THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2026

BCF 26: Be Kind
Lily Schlinker performing 'Be Kind'. Photo: Jona Harnischmacher

Directed by Emilie Weisse and starring Lily Schlinker and Janick Kremer, Emilie Weisse Circustheater's Be Kind finds a way to reach out and connect not only with babies but also their parents, their guardians and indeed people of any age who attend such a ceaselessly charming creation. Short in length but packed with depth, Weisse's work gently draws you in through the power of steadily entrancing music, visualisation and adventurous movement, the level of craft entwining seamlessly with the enormously comforting charisma of the performing artists.

Following the opening chimes of ambiently appealing birdsong, Schlinker and Kremer enjoy playful, chemistry-building exercises amongst themselves, set to rather lovely piano music. With their calming and creative presence efficiently and eloquently established, the duo then enter an arresting and quite mazy cardboard structure full of square flaps, round flaps, and flaps shaped like letterboxes, cat flaps and mouse holes, all of which provide plenty of opportunities for fun and laughter. 

But even these are only a lead into what makes Be Kind most memorable, and, indeed, magical – an application of props, dance, acrobatics and juggling which truly transform the staging area at the Brian Friel Theatre into an intimate, participative and quite wondrous world. A world where, among many surprising moments, balls and skittles of many colours light up and a veil like sheet floats in the air like a wave on a sandy shore.

There always appears to be something new to see and something exciting for all to do in the eclectic, effervescent and eminently kind Be Kind. The astonishment and awe surely experienced by everyone in the room seems like a whole new discovery for the youngest and is also refreshingly reflective for the adults in the audience, with evocative memories of my own childhood coming to the forefront of the mind and the centre of the heart once more. The overall warmth and effect of Be Kind is truly unprecedented - it's a real highlight of this year's Young at Art Belfast Children's Festival.

Simon Fallaha

Be Kind ran from Friday March 13 to Saturday March 14 at the Brian Friel Theatre in Belfast's Queen's Film Theatre, as part of the Young at Art Belfast Children's Festival 2026 (#BCF26). To find out more about the show, click here. For more information on the festival, click here.