Yuki Sutton (The Baddies)

Julia Donaldson is one of the greatest authors of children's books, sparking children's imagination and opening up a world of pure imagination. It therefore makes perfect sense as to why these books translate so well to stage, with many theatre companies taking one of Julia's beloved stories and bringing it to life and sparking that lifelong love of theatre for children. Freckle Productions are currently embarking on a UK and Ireland Tour with The Baddies, and we took the opportunity to speak with Yuki Sutton (Ride, Sam Wu Is Not Afraid of Ghosts), who is currently starring in the show, to tell us more.

Q) Hello. Before we begin, please could you introduce yourself and tell me a little about The Baddies and the character that you play?

Hi! I’m Yuki Sutton, I am an actress and I play the Girl in The Baddies. The Baddies is a tale about three ‘baddies’, a Ghost, a Witch and a Troll, who are pretty bad at being ‘bad’. They are put to the task of stealing The Girl’s blue spotty hanky but spoiler alert!!! they’re not ‘bad’ enough to do it! The Girl is a character who has just moved to the valley. She is brave, she is kind and she loooooooves sheep. 

Q) How does performing family theatre differ to other shows you’ve done?

There are some differences for sure. First of all, the show schedules are completely different! In family theatre, you have morning and afternoon shows, whereas typically you’d have evening shows and the occasional matinee. I have found that family theatre has been so much better for my daily structure. I am enjoying being a morning person. Secondly, audiences look a bit different as there are more young ones in attendance! It’s been interesting to learn what young children react positively to versus adults. Things that would typically land with adults sometimes don’t land with children, and other times the most random thing gets a lovely reaction, taking you by complete surprise! It’s something that I’ve found hard to determine and I’m definitely still learning what works and what doesn’t. On top of that, I’ve learned that lack of reaction doesn’t always mean disengagement. It’s easy to assume that they’re bored if they’re being quiet, but sometimes they are so invested they don’t have time to react! There’s been a lot of finding and understanding the balance of things and I’ve learned that this is the challenge of family theatre.

A similarity I’ve noticed, on the other hand, is the importance of truth. There is this instinct to be demonstrative because it’s a children’s show, but I’ve learned that this isn’t always necessary. Of course there are times when it is, but I’ve learned that it’s still so important to be truthful throughout. I think we, as adults, don’t give young children much credit for being as clever as they are, which is perhaps why we try to go big to keep them engaged. Children are so attentive, they detect falsehoods and pick up on the smallest details, and I think as long as we give them truth, we must trust that they will follow us on our journey through the story.

Q) How have you found the process of bringing your character to life?

It has been such a joy to bring this character to life. I find that I am constantly discovering new things about her.  I originally drew inspiration from Studio Ghibli heroines that I grew up with such as Ponyo from Ponyo, Satsuki from My Neighbour Totoro, and Chihiro from Spirited Away. I adore these characters because even though they are so young, there is lots of depth to them, and I wanted to find this in The Girl as well. Yes, she is brave and yes, she is kind! But she has her fears and doubts like anybody else. I wanted to make sure those traits were also present in her portrayal. Bravery is rarely a thing that comes naturally and is often a thing that must be earned. I want our young audience, especially young girls, to see her overcome her obstacles and know that they have it within them to overcome these difficult emotions too. So although she may not be scared of the Baddies, I decided that she is afraid of being alone, and also deathly terrified of the grizzly bear (another reference to the show for those who have yet to see it!)

You will find that The Girl is Scottish! This was something that the writer, David Greig, asked me to try and it worked so we kept it! I have to confess I get a bit nervous that the accent will offend Scots so I have to go over the accent every now and again to make sure it’s not slipping into something else.

A challenge I had with The Girl was placing her age. In the beginning I played her as 6-8 years old because she looks to be around that age in the book, but I gradually found that this made it difficult for me to access her maturity. I think I’ve now found the sweet spot in playing her as 12/13 years old. It’s added a layer of awkwardness to her that I think tends to exist in the pre-teen age, an age that I personally remember finding particularly difficult to navigate. It’s been sweet and reflective to explore that in her, now, as an adult. I’m sure there will be many more things to discover about her as I go along and it’s something I will cherish throughout the rest of the tour.

Q) Why do you think it’s important for these stories to be adapted for the stage for young children?

I think that seeing the same story told in a different way might broaden a young child’s imagination. What I love about this adaptation is that although the plot is the same as the book, the way we tell it and the way it looks is so different. On top of that, we also have some really cool songs! Creativity opens so many doors for possibility and I hope young children will be inspired by our show and how creative we have been with it.

Q) What can audiences expect and why should audiences come along?

Audiences can expect incredible tunes, some very silly Baddies, sensational performances, a spinning house and a cat! What more could you want?

More Information and Tickets

Photography by Jess Shurte