O BEST BELOVED is our award-winning, family-friendly ensemble adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s "Just-So Stories" that premiered at the 2013 San Francisco Fringe Festival. Now, we’re taking the show on the road for an outdoor tour to parks and public spaces aboard our mobile stage, FluxWagon, recently built thanks to a CASH Grant from Theatre Bay Area.

Let’s let Samuel Peaches, our ensemble’s head honcho, introduce the show like he does when we perform:

“Step right up, Best Beloveds! See and hear of the High and Far-Off Times when the World was New-and-All! Learn how the Rhino got those great folds in her leathery Skin, how the Kangaroo got his strong legs and boundful Stride, and how the Camel got her lollophing Hump! Our tales are 300% Educational, full of ‘venturesome Adventures, and incompletely guaranteed!”

Our travelling troupe of eccentric thespians arrives at each outdoor performance site with FluxWagon, a brightly painted gypsy wagon. They call out to passersby to come enjoy the show, start to unfold the wagon… and, voila! They assemble their stage before your very eyes, complete with mechanical scenery, such as a pulley-system to raise the sun and a scrolling backdrop for the chase scenes.

During the course of the show our six performers not only assemble their stage and operate the scenery, but also sing and play original music, joke with the audience, and remind everyone what fun it is to tell tall tales and revel in ridiculousness. The ensemble brings Kipling’s tales to life with outrageous physicality and ebullient theatricality.

O Best Beloved hearkens back to the days when Medieval troupes transported their productions in pageant wagons, and performances engaged the entire community’s interest and imagination. In that spirit of engagement, we’re taking our show on the road to create a family-friendly theatrical event that is easy to get to, welcoming to everyone, and more than a little magical.