ANIMAL FARM AUDIENCE APPLAUDS " THE FARMER'S CHEESE" “The Farmer’s Cheese”, a musical play written especially for profoundly deaf children with cochlear implants, proved a big hit when it was performed live on Saturday 24th April 2010 at the Turner Sims Concert Hall in Southampton. Originally a children’s book, “The Farmer’s Cheese” was adapted for theatre by 33 year old Scottish composer and the MED-EL Music Fellow, Dr. Oliver Searle, whose works are regularly performed at music festivals throughout the UK and Europe. Painted faces, ears and tails were sported by many of the children who attended, an animal audience supporting their favourite, farmyard characters in the story book written by Geoff Plant of MED-EL who is a distinguished Hearing Rehabilitation expert. Martin O’Connor was superb as the irate farmer while cheeky mouse, Clare McGarry proved his perfect foil. The children were giggling from the beginning, soon joining in the “all through the house” catch phrase and calling out in pantomime tradition when the second half of the performance gave way to Tom and Jerry style antics. Animals in the book were represented by individual musical instruments and all the musicians were key to the performance. “The Bull”, trombonist George Murray, evoked Southern Spain with his wonderful bullfight theme, while mouse yet again outwitted the hapless hero. At the end of the performance all the children received a complimentary copy of the Farmer’s Cheese book with many rushing onto the stage to have them signed by author, composer and cast members. The performance was hosted by the South of England Cochlear Implant Centre and supported by MED-EL UK, the hearing implant company. This ground-breaking piece of musical theatre is a wonderful introduction to music for profoundly deaf children who can only hear thanks to the sophisticated technology of cochlear implants. Cassandra Brown, MD of MED-EL UK, explains, “Music is life-enhancing and something most of us take for granted. This innovative British work for children with cochlear implants is world-leading and we are proud to announce that in addition to the highly successful performance in Southampton, we are hosting performances in London and South Wales. I can’t think of a more fitting way to celebrate MED-EL’s 20th anniversary.” ***IF YOU WANT TO KEEP ABREAST OF FARMER'S CHEESE DEVELOPMENTS WHY NOT JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP - "We love the Farmer's Cheese". You will find photos, concert dates and much more ...