There is a milestone in the lives of young people facing adulthood when the almost forgotten times of innocence suddenly loom large as a potential source of comfort, escape or both. Many things can be a catalyst and the death of the last remaining parent is certainly one. Whether or not the deceased has truly left ‘big shoes to fill’, it is daunting to become the seniors in the whānau. 

Not to be confused with the fabled Sasquatch, the title of this play, Big Foot – devised by Rebekah de Roo, Daniel Nodder, Teag Mackay and Tyler Clarke – refers obliquely to the size of a father’s feet from a child’s perspective. In fantasised reality (oxymoron intended), it is the name a young sister and brother once gave to the mythical hero, guardian and friend they needed and therefore ‘discovered’ Beyond the Garden Shed.

Now all grown up, the long-since moved-on sister, Eva, has come ‘home’ for the funeral and it is her stayed-at-home younger brother, Charlie, who cajoles her into returning to their legendary world.

On our masked arrival, and as we sit in socially-distanced seating at BATS’ Random Stage, we contemplate set designer Scott Maxim’s five tall free-standing shrouded structures. They will soon be revealed as splendidly fret-worked trees, as the siblings’ journey begins. But first the Storyteller, an unabashed Teag Mackay, introduces the “tale of two worlds” in rhyming couplets, creating the space for us world-worn adults to accept a return to childlike make-believe.

As Charlie, Daniel Nodder wins us over to his need to believe Big Foot “is not even properly dead” and to seek him in the land beyond. Rebekah de Roo’s more mature and realistic Eva convincingly resists and there is a witty exchange about what is ‘real’ before she, as Princess Evangelina, agrees to accompany Prince Charlington on a quest to rediscover their guardian friend. Clever costume design by Scott Maxim and Prea Millar allows for a fluid transition.

The fact that Prince Charlington and Princess Evangelina have never ventured into this land without Big Foot, yet here they are, is proof – to Charlie at least – that their hero is still alive. The nature of child’s play is authentically reflected in the way the siblings slip in and out of their imaginary roles while believing utterly in their encounters with the whimsical woodland characters played by Teag Mackay – whose compositions and sound design add to the delight.

There is plenty of gentle humour and a lovely subtlety in the shifts between fantasy and reality, as the truth of what Eva and Charlie are actually dealing with is slowly revealed. When it comes to a head and they both need time and space to come to terms with it, they confidently allow silence to play its potent part – which marks director Tyler Clarke as a sure-handed modulator of the dramatic action.

Willing suspension of disbelief gives way to conscious nostalgia as reality is confronted and resolution is achieved. Overall the innocence of childhood and purpose of childlike coping mechanisms are dramatised with a mature understanding and theatrical skill. 

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