Having begun his career writing and performing in children's theatre, Robin has continued to be a strong advocate of the importance and value of the live theatrical experience for children, pre-schoolers and young people. He is committed to maintaining the highest artistic standards in work for young audiences, and he continues to teach, direct and write for young people.
His plays have been produced all over the U.K. and in Singapore, Mexico and the U.S.
Below are examples of Robin's writing for Young Audiences:
TOWN MOUSE AND COUNTRY MOUSE
Directed by Fiona Buffini
(2016)
“I’ve never been away from this farm. Not once! I’ve really never had an adventure.
So maybe I should go?”....
Town Mouse Teena loves the rush and the buzz of the city. Country Mouse Curtis prefers the wide open fields and sweet, fresh air of the countryside. They’re so different it seems they will never get along. But difference doesn't have to be scary, and trying new things can be an adventure...
Directed by Fiona Buffini, Town Mouse and Country Mouse was a second commission from Nottingham Playhouse. The script retells Aesop’s fable about the triumph of friendship and the joy of adventure. With a beautifully miniature, mouse-sized world (courtesy of designer Olivia Du Monceau) the show was packed with action, music and singing, with plenty of chances for it’s young audience to join in the actiTown Mouse Teena loves the rush and the buzz of the city. Country Mouse Curtis prefers the wide open fields and sweet, fresh air of the countryside. They’re so different it seems they will never get along. And with a cat arriving on the scene, can they resolve their differences before it is too late?
"it keeps the children totally engaged in the story of a growing friendship between a related rural mouse and a farm mouse. With a great blend of simple songs, an amusing and engaging story, plus child friendly acting. Directed by Fiona Buffini, it is a winner all round. Kindness and thoughtfulness towards each other are the themes running through the show and are eagerly taken up by the small children."
Phil Lowe, EastMidlandsTheatre.com
"Robin Kingsland’s kindly tale of the formally mannered Curtis, the Country Mouse, and his worldly-wise cousin, Teena, draws us all in at a gentle pace until we find ourselves happily barking like dogs or braying our sirens so that the visiting Teena can go to sleep amid familiar city noises".
Pat Ashworth, The Stage
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
Directed by Allie Spencer
(2015)
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG reinvented the classic Grimm's fairy tale and packed it with pre-school-friendly delights - action, songs, storytelling, puppetry and full, open audience participation, including a "Royal Procession" of children dressed from Princess Fenella's dress-up box and an onstage "pretend tea-party for the young audience members to join!
"it keeps the children This absolute charmer of a show for children between four and eight has been imaginatively conceived and delivered with truth and tenderness [...] There are inventive opportunities for audience participation, with warm encouragement from the two actors, Lee Rufford and Charlotte Ellen [...] On a magical set (designed by Dorrie Scott), suitcases turn into distant lighted buildings, and the slimy well becomes a royal bedroom. [...] stories within the story make for some enchanting narrative. It's a little gem."
★★★★ Pat Ashworth, The Stage
"A sweet yet thought-provoking tale about the importance of kindness, sharing, politeness and most of all the unexpected rewards of keeping promises and making new friends."
★★★★★ Mumsnet
"The Princess & The Frog is sixty minutes worth of utter theatrical charm and much engagement with the fascinated children throughout. [...] Both actors make the show magical and inclusive for their young audience who are engrossed in this pre Christmas treat."
EastMidlandsTheatre.com
UNDER THE STORY TREE (2011)
This play follows the adventures of a motley bunch of hungry animals in a time of drought, as they try to remember the name of a Magic Tree that could save them all from starving.
One by one, animals are sent to try and contact a wise woman who knows the name of the tree. As the others wait, they pass the time telling each other stories.
Featuring folk tales from Pakistan, Britain, Somalia and Poland, Under the Story Tree is a magical story of friendship and co-operation with stories told in a variety of ways - through music, action, acting out and traditional tale-telling. Featuring live music, puppets and lots of fun and laughter.
Robin has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the highly regarded Quicksilver Children's Theatre, as both a performer and writer. Some of his most highly praised plays have been for the company...
SEA OF SILENCE
(2003)
"A mountain will tumble and crumble to rock/ The rock can be ground to a stone. /The stone wears to pebble, the pebble to sand/ But the pearl in my hand forms from one grain of sand all alone…"
Asked to deal with the sensitive subject of bullying, after extensive research Robin chose to remove the subject form a school setting, and instead tell a faux Japanese folk tale of a bullied fisherman driven to desperate actions, and the wife who tries to save him:
Fisherman Koto's wife, Kishima, spares the life of a magic turtle,. The turtle in turn keeps Koto alive after his neighbour's bullying drives him to try to drown himself. As Koto performs an arduous task for the Sea King, Kishima is compelled to remain silent, even as the bully turns his attention to her. Offering no pat resolutions - there are none, according to experts - the play instead explores the power of endurance, hope, and clinging to one's self esteem: "From a single grain of sand , a pearl is formed"
Sea of Silence was toured twice to great acclaim, and was later produced by Mexico's Grupo 55 under the title "Mar De Silencio" .
TO READ AN EXTRACT FROM "SEA OF SILENCE", PLEASE CLICK HERE
"Thoughtful and compassionate"
The Stage
"Powerful, Magical and Beautiful"
ITC
"Both enchanting and moving, with wonderful puppetry, masks and musical sequences. Although... primarily a piece for children, many adults might also learn much from it's message"
Jersey Evening Post
"Not only did the children discuss the play at great length, it led to a lot of discussion among the staff after the show, about the failures of the "town Elder" character, and how we could improve our approach to dealing with bullying incidents"
Teacher Feedback
Above and R - photographs from the GRUPO 55 production in Mexico
“Full of light and sparkle…. "The Tempest" has always been one of my favourite Shakespeare plays and I have seen four productions of it - this one which did not aim so high flew the furthest.”
(Review by "Flying inkpot" of the English-Speaking Theatre of Singapore production)
PROSPERO'S CHILDREN
(1998)
"What? Has your heart compacted to a rock?
That pity cannot find a root in it?"
A Modern, blank-verse play inspired by Shakespeare's "The Tempest", but exploring single-parent childhood.
The play presented Prospero as driven and distracted by his preoccupation with his books, and three of the play's other characters as his three "children" - Ariel, the eldest, expected to be responsible , while longing to be free, Caliban the "difficult" middle child, and Miranda, the youngest - loved, but over-protected and "babied". Prospero's decision to use his magic to wreck a ship and bring his enemy into his power leads to strife, but ultimately to forgiveness, acceptance and redemption.
"Prospero's Children" toured Britain twice before being performed at the English Speaking Theatre of Singapore.
TO READ AN EXTRACT FROM "PROSPERO'S CHILDREN", PLEASE CLICK HERE
Jo is not happy when her childminder, Fran, brings a new child into the house. She doesn't want him there, refuses to speak to or even look at him, and won't share any of "her" toys. Slowly though, through the rituals of wordless negotiation, and through their own make-believe play and "storying", the barriers are removed, and the two discover a way to play together.
"Pretend We're Friends" - based on research in nurseries and developed in collaboration with early years practitioner Fiona Shepherd - was one of the first pre-school plays to explore the "egocentric world of the child". based on first hand observations and talking to pre-schoolers, and with genuine audience participation with no “pre-set” answers or closed questions, "Pretend We're Friends" presents a relatable situation in an engaging way that entertains while holding a mirror up to the children's own experience. It laid the groundwork for commissioning Company Quicksiver Theatre's later, hugely successful pre-school work.
"Bright, bold & cheerful, but with an underlying thoughtfulness, the show has plenty to offer a neglected age group"
(Lyn Gardner, City Limits)
"Simple but lively tale... handled with sensitivity and humour"
(Times Educational Supplement)
Based on the classic "Happy Families" book by Allan and Janet Ahlberg,
When Mr. Biff's old sparring partner, Mr. Bop is invited to take part in a charity boxing match, and Mr. Biff is left out because he is "a bit out of shape", the two friends end up not speaking to each other. Soon their children, siding with their respective fathers, have fallen out too. As Mr. Biff embarks on a crash fitness course, determined to fight, it is left to the boxer's wives to work out a way that foolish pride can be put to one side, and mutual friendship and respect restored...
"A Joy to Behold"
(Time Out)
"A knock-out! Has [children's] eyes and ears tuned in without stop for a full hour - no easy task!"
(TES)
Robin has also written for the renowned Polka Children's Theatre in Wimbledon:
“Beyond what we understand of the world is darkness. I want to take you to the edge of that darkness and have you say… “I wonder..””
"It is delightful as an [...] introduction for 20th-century children
to the elements of the great 19th-century detective stories. [...] A charming introduction for children to the values of good, solid professional theatre. It does not patronise its audience or fall into the trap of being in any way ‘jolly dee’."
New Scientist
"Robin Kingsland's script provides a gripping storyline, liberally sprinkled with challenging clues to test the imaginative and deductive resources of the young audience... Deuced good."
Time Out
""Elementary Mr Holmes" ... is good unadulterated fun with all the ingredients of a first-class detective story"
Wandsworth Borough News
ELEMENTARY MR HOLMES
(1991)
The brief from Polka's then Artistic Director, Vickie Ireland, was to write a show to encourage scientific curiosity. Robin's answer was to send a modern teenager back in time to meet the great Baker Street Detective.
Scheduled almost exactly on the 100th "anniversary" of Holmes's showdown with his nemesis Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls, the story revolved around Professor Moriarty's plot to humilate and then destroy Holmes
:
It is 1993 – Jo Watson’s’s prospective Sister-in-law works at an interactive Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street. When Jo has to meet her there after hours, a weird cabinet catapults her back one hundred years, where she becomes embroiled in a nasty plot by Moriarty to discredit his arch nemesis, Holmes, Along the way, Jo teaches Holmes to rap, warns him of the dangers of smoking, sees what docklands was like before it got gentrified and tries to explain dvds, traffic, and the moon-landings to a bewildered Baker Street Irregular. In return, Jo learns not to take the wonders of her age for granted.
Directed by Roman Stefanski
Inspired by the original ballads and legends, which tell of a hero outlawed, not by injustice, but by his own failings, this version of Robin Hood - - more layered than average - is more brooding “dark knight” than chortling hero in Lincoln green. This is a Robin Hood trying to make up for his earlier failings, and struggling with the burden of having so many others trusting him to stand up for them. For all that, the play buckles a swash with the best of them, and has plenty of lighter moments and high adventure to keep an audience entertained. And Peace is still restored with the return of the Rightful King!
Directed by Vicky Ireland
