A woman who grew up in De Beauvoir has written several theatre shows for toddlers and babies, and her latest creation began its second run at Carnegie Hall’s Resnick Wing in New York City, on 21 October.
Zoe Palmer’s musical theatre show, titled Otoyotoy, is an immersive performance that builds upon her existing work, including the award-winning opera series Musical Rumpus. “The show has a loose narrative which is centred on the conflict between work and play,” Palmer said. “However, we’ve kept it loose so the children can interact with the singers on stage and co-create the story themselves.”
Palmer, who attended De Beauvoir Primary School, said: “I got involved as Thomas Cabaniss, the composer and leader of Moving Star vocal ensemble, contacted me about developing work with him, as I have been creating shows for children for the last 10 years. I flew out to New York for a week last year and our audiences responded really well to it. I am so pleased with how it has turned out.”
The audiences in New York gave rave reviews, with one parent telling representatives of Carnegie Hall that “the most important thing for me was seeing my son’s happiness and how engaged he was”. The production was so successful that Thomas Cabaniss has decided to include it in his rota of shows when he is on tour.
Palmer is now working on a new production for Den Jyske Opera, which is due to debut in Denmark over the next few months and then may tour the rest of Europe. It is safe to say that this local has made it on an international stage.
