Stig of the Dump

Last night we saw FABBA, a theatre company for adults with learning disabilities, present ‘Stig of the Dump’. Based loosely around the Clive King children’s novel. We thoroughly enjoyed a ‘brand new script full of adventure, love and friendship.’

‘Barney is trying to save the village when he stumbles across Stig, a caveman. They both need each other’s help. Mr Landgrab is trying to destroy the ancient stones in the village, and Stig needs to find his magic stick to get home to his family.’

We chuckled at the creativity of the story line: incorporating the Wombles, the Flintstones and Doctor Who into one plot is pretty spectacular. We sung along to Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowing in the Wind’, Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ and Rocky Horror’s ‘Time Warp’ that were skilfully woven into the story.  

I appreciated the ecological theme, the desire to protect our environment. I was particularly moved by their portrayal of Michael Jackson’s ‘Earth Song’ that seems particularly relevant today:  

Did you ever stop to notice
All the children dead from war?
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth, these weeping shores?

The whole cast sung Sister Sledge’s ‘We are Family’, demonstrating the close, caring family relationships between everybody involved in the production.

There was trust that all would play their part, joy in achievement; all took a pride in themselves and each other. It was a privilege to see the togetherness in the Fabba Family. I looked, learnt and laughed with them:

Living life is fun and we’ve just begun
To get our share of this world’s delights
High hopes we have for the future
And our goal’s in sight

Barney and Stig sung Randy Newman’s ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’:

You’ve got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you’re miles and miles from your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you’ve got a friend in me

All concerned with this production had stepped out of their comfort zone, taken the ‘rough road’ in challenging themselves and each other…

Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too, maybe
But none of them will ever love you the way I do
It’s me and you, boy

FABBA… ‘Adults with learning difficulties’… what we saw and experienced last night was not a focus on disability, but a celebration the joy of humanity, pride in a good job well done, ordinary people sharing life together, enjoying and appreciating friendship.