Audience participation is a huge part of what Backhand do and believe in. We want our audience to be with us all the way and have the best experience. Backhand and us as performers really love chatting and getting our audiences ideas, bonding and breaking the wall between audience and performer. In theatre for a younger audience it can often be the first time a child has been to the theatre, it can be very scary, there is lights, glitter, music and Backhand feel that it is important to let them know that they have a voice, they can support and laugh with the characters and that they should not be afraid to be fully immersed in the story; that is the wonderful thing about theatre, it is completely 4D and the audience are there living it with us here and now. They are just, if not more important as the story being told. They are part of it. At the beginning of our plays we are out the front, waving, saying hello, and sometimes asking our audience questions as well as them asking us. Within the plays, we use singing, making actions, asking for audience help, a hug, and ideas. At the end it’s a vital part of our process to say good bye, come out into the auditorium, maybe bring the puppets, have pictures, hugs, for some of the older members of the audience they are curious about the puppets or how we did some of the play…although we never let them know too much of the magic. It just finishes off the whole experience. I feel the whole process works very well and it is certainly rewarding for both the audience and us as storytellers. We get to know our audience and they get to know us.
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