And on the first day, God said, “Let there be light.” And being an industrious chap, there was light. As there was in the night sky above Vision Mechanics and Haya Cultural Centre’s co-production of Little Light ‒ until a star in a canine constellation fell from the sky, plunging the heavens in darkness.

A similar fate which befell a young boy, literally and figuratively, as the sole light bulb, which illuminated his long days under the canvas of a sparsely furnished tent as he sheltered from the baking heat of an Arabian sun, flickered and died.

As did his enthusiasm when his father trekked off to work on a construction site, leaving him home alone in a dark place ‒ which no amount of toy helicopters or emergency vehicles could pull him out of the doldrums.

That was, until a stray dog with the proverbial waggly tale pounded through the flaps of his tent, licked his cheeks with the unbounded excitement of a child eating their first McFlurry and demanded to play fetch.

As God decreed, there was light ‒ in the little boy’s eyes, under the canvas of his homely tent and high above in the night sky as the fallen star was restored to its rightful place as the button nose of the canine constellation.

No mobile phones, no photography and, charmingly, no shoes were our gentle instructions before entering the circus-like Bedouin tent of designer Kim Bergsagel (Creative Director of Vision Mechanics). But everything else about Little Light said yes.

From the beautifully pitched performances of Hanin Awali and Mohammad Awad to the intricate direction of Symon Macintyre (Artistic Director of Vision Mechanics) ‒ which combined puppetry, animation, lighting displays and a pulsing soundscape of Arabic music and natural sounds ‒ Little Light shed a lorra lorra light on the little things which make a big difference in our lives. Namely, love, companionship and family.

For children of all ages (though 5+ is recommended) and for those who have not lost the child within, Little Light will continue to pitch up its tent in theatres and community spaces throughout Scotland until 15 April. So as Lerner and Loewe wrote in the title song of their Gold Rush musical, “Gotta dream boy / Gotta song / Paint your wagon / And come along.”

Peter Callaghan
Latest posts by Peter Callaghan (see all)