LAIKA VISUAL STORY This visual resource is for children and young adults visiting the Unicorn Theatre to see a performance of Laika. This visual story is intended to help prepare you for a new experience and help you to become familiar with the surroundings and the performance. This performance is fast paced, high energy and contains numerous scenes with moderate threat and fantasy sequences. These sequences are frequent but not sustained. There are some sequences where characters are in danger but these are not prolonged. The performance has themes of space travel, loneliness, dreams, training, pursuit and capture. We have made the usual amendments to the volume and lighting levels but due to the nature of the show you will experience moments of startling sound and lighting effects. Welcome to the Unicorn Theatre. We are a theatre for children and adults. This is what the building looks like from the outside. This is the main entrance of the theatre. There are some steps before you get to the front door. The words and pictures on the windows tell you what shows and activities are happening inside. When you enter through the front door, you will see a big space with lots of tables and chairs in an area called the Foyer. There are also some instructions on the floor tiles, you can choose to follow these instructions or you can ignore them. The Box Office is also in the Foyer. This is where you can buy tickets or collect tickets that you have already paid for. There may be other adults and children waiting to buy or collect tickets when you arrive. You will be met by one of the Ushers, who will be wearing a dark red shirt with white writing like the one above. You can ask an usher if you have any questions and they will do their best to help you. When it’s time for Laika to start, you will hear a bell and an Usher will tell you where you need to go. You might see some adults and children sitting at some of the tables having something to eat or drink from our Unicornershop. There is a cafe in the Foyer called the Unicornershop where you can buy drinks and snacks. You can also bring your own drinks and snacks with you. If you need to use the Toilet, they are downstairs from the Foyer. Look for the stairs going down or you can use the Lift. These are the boys’ toilets. These are the girls’ toilets. When you enter the Clore Theatre you will see a small room with black walls, the stage is covered in bright orange grid lines that glow, lots of space themed items, a bed and a structure with ladders to a raised platform. The actors will climb all over the structure and move the pieces around. Your seats are purple benches and you can choose your seat. Some of the seats are quite high. Above your seats and the stage are lots of bulbs that glow. These lights move up and down and glow throughout the show. Do they remind you of stars? Choose your seat and make yourself comfortable. Sound: When you enter you will hear sounds of electronics and computers. You will hear beeps and whistles. Do you think these are the sounds you might hear from inside a rocket? You will hear background sound like this throughout the performance. You will sometimes hear voices, even when you can’t see them. The voices will countdown the rocket lift off and make you feel like you are in the space station. There a moments of much louder sound effects; alarms, weather, transport and crowds. There are also elements of music throughout the performance. Lighting: The room will be quite dark. The bulbs above your head will glow like stars and the walls and floor are painted with glow-in-the-dark paint that appear and disappear throughout the show. Some areas of the set glow and flash, the tall structure will look like a rocket taking off with very bright lights and flames. There are two moments of very bright lights and one moment of pyrotechnics. Please speak to a member of staff if you have any concerns. The Characters: Laika – a dog Laika likes to run around and wag her tail, she barks and jumps around the room. Laika is sometimes a bit sad and lonely but she has a friend. Laika was a real dog that was sent to space in a rocket. Sami – A boy Sami is a young boy who loves Space. Lots of the show is in his bedroom surrounded by his toys. Sami is sometimes sad and a bit angry that his mum is going on a space mission. Sami is friends with Laika. This actor also plays the scientist who tests Laika and Val. When he is the scientist he will wear a white coat. Val – the mum Val is a scientist who is going to Mars in a rocket. Val is training to leave Earth and preparing Sami to live without her. Val runs around and climbs on the set when she is training. This actor also plays the Usher at the start of the show. The usher will chase Laika and come through the audience. When she is the usher she will wear a red t-shirt and glasses. When the show begins there will be no lights on stage but the lights over your seats will stay on. You will hear scratching and banging on the door that you used to get into the room. The usher will investigate with a torch and find out what the noise is. It’s Laika! Laika will rush into the room and run around. The usher will try to catch Laika. The usher is worried the show will be ruined. Don’t worry; Laika is too fast for the Usher. The stage will now be darker and the lighting will flash. The sound will include the countdown voice and a rumble of the rocket. You will see Sami and his toy rocket. Do you have a toy rocket? Sami will tell you about Space, his life and his mum. You will then see the actor playing Val (Sami’s mum) enter from the back of the stage. Val and Sami talk about the mission. Val brings Sami a gift and he is happy. When Laika comes back she will enter from under the bed. Val and Sami will talk about Laika and her life. Val and Sami climb to the top of the structure and talk about space and planets. The set has bells on it and the actors will play these bells to make music. When Val and Sami tell you about Laika you will hear lots of sound effects and Laika will run aorund. You will hear the sound of busy roads, birds, water being splashed, bad weather and eating. Laika will look a bit sad and lonely but not for very long. When Sami is in bed having a dream you will see the other actors making all the toys float and move around the bedroom. Can you see the robot and the clock? You will see the usher rush in again. She is still chasing Laika. Laika goes to toilet on the stage! Yuck. When the usher is chasing Laika you will hear more sound effects of cars, roads, a lift and doors slamming. You will see a map on the stage with glowing lights. The white light is Laika and the red light is the usher. You can see them rushing around the city. The usher has a ball bazooka, don’t worry she isn’t very good at it, she doesn’t hit Laika. When Laika is trapped she is sad. Don’t worry, she will meet a friendly scientist. The scientist will test Laika and you will hear more sound effects and see Laika be cleaned and fed, Laika is much happier now. Val and Sami are now getting ready to train at the space station. The scientist will test both Val and Laika. There will be lots of rushing around and climbing on the set. You will hear the sound of a heartbeat. When it’s a quick beat it’s Laika’s heart. When Val and Laika are training they spin around on a hoop on the stage. This makes them very dizzy. Sometimes the stage will flash and light up in different colours when the training is happening. Both Val and Laika will hang off the structure to make it look like they are floating. It looks really fun. Sami will talk about his worries and he looks a bit sad that his mum is leaving. Sami’s mum has a very important job but he will miss her when she is gone. When Laika is in the rocket the set will move to lock her in. Laika is a bit scared and she barks and sings with loud music. Laika is sad again but Sami visits her. When the rocket is taking off you will hear much louder sounds of a countdown, a loud bark and very bright lights. You might want to close your eyes or cover your ears. This is okay, it won’t last very long. Sami is sleeping and has a nightmare. Sami’s mum wakes him up to comfort him. They talk about Laika and the mission. They are sad together. Sami is a bit angry at his mum. It is nearly time for Sami’s mum to leave Earth.