Character Stories for Children will have presented 40 stories by the end of this week…

What started out as a little dream and a conversation with some Improv friends has grown into a beautiful little family of wacky characters. Strange and interestingly quirky people who arrive at around 3pm every afternoon to share a story, poem or song with the young [and not so young!] children who are stuck in lockdown.

Last week we were featured in the Game #LockdownLegends segment on Expresso on SABC 3 and if you don’t know what we’re about, this is a great way to let you know:

With amazing artwork from Nova Buchan, the little-channel-that-could launched its first video with Tandi Buchan as the lovable Hairyett sharing our first ever story, the beautiful Arden Davidson ‘Land of Mites and Maybes’.

With Wilbur Polyester [John Lane] and Fizzledorn Wifflesnuff [Noah Levin] joining us from BIG [The Barcelona Improv Group!], most of our characters have been players from Cape Town’s Improguise Improv comedy team who have flung themselves in with reckless abandon.

The very first Friday show was an exciting one in that we launched a completely improvised story called The Saga of Clyff Hanga where every week a new actor makes up the next part of the story and presents it as their character. The amazing Megan Furniss in the guise of Nota Thingrimes Weethorinj kicked off this story which is now in its 6th week, introducing us to young KD and the adventurous half-man half-dragon Clyff Hanga.

This story started off with us asking our young audience for a bunch of suggestions and we have been incorporating things like excavators, clowns, mermaid lakes, and castles into the story ever since.

In Week 3, on the 22nd of April Character Stories for Children launched our first ever isiXhosa story with uMakazi uNomabali [played by the super talented Siphokazi Jonas] which has been one of our most popular stories to date.

A week later, on the 29th April, we had Hannes [the energetic Terence Makapan] sharing our first Afrikaans story as he delivered an exuberant version of Die Drie Varkies. 

Which brings us to today. Halfway through week 6 of Character Stories for Children.

Today at 3pm you can watch one of our most popular characters Sleepy Dee Dee share a story about King Arthur.

This will be followed at 3.30pm by the debut of Mandisi and Liso Sindo from KASI RC Shack Art School and Theatre who bring us a brand new isiXhosa story they wrote [and sang] themselves called “uThoko noThokozani”

Followed by another episode of The Silly Billy Show [Thursday], the next exciting episode of The Saga of Clyff Hanga [Fri] and finally this week’s debut character Sally Thimball will be back for the 10am Saturday morning Extravaganza! 

To all of those who watch and share and comment and tag your friends, thank you. We are doing this for you. The hope was to create an event every day for the young children of lockdown to gather around and watch. Apart but together. With close to 250 subscribers on YouTube it feels like we are getting there so please continue to share the love. Subscribe if you haven’t. And share this post with your friends who have young children.

For anyone out there who sees themselves as a story-teller or story writer [willing to contribute a story for another character to read] please get hold of us at brettfish@hotmail.com

Hope to see you at the next show…