Kids' Stuff

Performed by Katie Keady (2006 Equity Guild Award, Best Actor; Female),
Directed by Sally Richardson
Assistant Director Marisa Gareffa
Set and Lighting Design by Andrew Lake
Sound Design and Operation by Kingsley Reeve

Kids’ Stuff is a solo work that is rarely performed although internationally recognised. The central character, a seven year old boy, is portrayed through direct dialogue with the audience. It is a play of words heard and actions seen, life witnessed through keyholes but not necessarily understood. In the course of reporting what he has experienced, our young boy imitates the adults he has come into contact with, from his schoolteacher and father to the village policeman and local priest. We are presented with a complex and fascinating picture of the characters of a small community through the innocent and trusting eyes of a child.

This project was supported by PICA who for the first time are allowing a performance in the Upper Tower Studio, a unique venue in the rooftop of the PICA building. The play was ideally suited for this magical space, and for four nights over four weeks up to 25 patrons shared this intimate site-specific performance.

In Raymond Cousse’s new play Kids' Stuff, we experience life through the eyes of a small boy. Be it the death of a school friend, the sexual activities of the local butcher’s apprentice with his best friend’s sister..Cousse’s young character tells all with bravado, the strange misunderstanding and intensity that is childhood. Cousse creates a whole world of people through the small voice of only one. Reflecting the tyranny of institutions, the perplexity of sexuality and the bewilderment brought about by death. Kids' Stuff penetrates the fundamental concerns of us all…