A slice of Cardiff history has been brought to life on stage at the Sherman Theatre, with writer and director Hannah McPake turning a real moment from the city’s past into something that feels surprisingly relevant today.
Balloon Girl is the latest production to come out of the Sherman, and it’s aimed squarely at younger audiences. But don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s lightweight. McPake has crafted something that manages to hold the attention of kids while giving adults plenty to chew on at the same time.
The show takes a scene rooted in Cardiff’s history and shapes it into what can only be described as a modern parable. That’s no easy task. Taking something old and making it feel urgent and meaningful to a child sitting in a theatre seat in 2024 requires real skill, and by all accounts McPake pulls it off.
What makes Balloon Girl work is the way McPake understands her audience. Children are not passive viewers. They’re sharp, they get bored quickly, and they will absolutely let you know if a show has lost them. McPake seems to know this instinctively. The pacing is tight, the storytelling is clear, and there’s enough going on visually and emotionally to keep young eyes fixed on the stage from start to finish.
The Sherman Theatre has long been one of Wales’s most important venues for new writing and theatre aimed at families and younger people. Productions like this one are a big part of why the Sherman matters to Cardiff’s cultural life. It’s not just about putting on a show. It’s about giving Welsh stories a stage and making sure those stories reach the people who will carry them forward.
Balloon Girl does exactly that. By rooting itself in something that actually happened in Cardiff, the play gives local audiences a connection to their own city’s story. There’s something genuinely exciting about watching a piece of theatre and thinking, this happened here, in this city, on these streets. It creates a kind of ownership over the story that you just don’t get with something generic or imported.
McPake’s decision to frame that history as a parable is a smart one. A parable doesn’t just tell you what happened. It asks you what it means. It invites the audience, even the youngest members of it, to think about bigger questions. What do we do when things go wrong? How do we treat each other? What does it mean to be brave?
Those are questions worth asking at any age, and the fact that Balloon Girl asks them through the lens of Cardiff’s own history makes them feel grounded rather than abstract.
The Sherman has built a strong reputation for this kind of work, commissioning writers who understand the specific rhythms and concerns of Welsh life and Welsh communities. McPake fits that tradition well. Her writing doesn’t talk down to its audience, and her direction gives the material room to breathe without ever letting it drag.
For families in Cardiff looking for something to do that’s a bit more nourishing than a trip to the cinema, Balloon Girl looks like exactly the kind of show worth making the effort for. It’s local, it’s thoughtful, and it’s been made with genuine care for the people sitting in those seats.
Theatre for young people sometimes gets treated as a lesser category, something to tick a box rather than a serious artistic endeavour. Balloon Girl pushes back against that idea. McPake has clearly approached this project with the same seriousness and craft she would bring to any adult production, and the result is a show that earns its place on the Sherman’s stage.
Cardiff has a rich and often underexplored history, and it’s always worth celebrating when artists dig into that history and find something worth sharing. Balloon Girl is one of those occasions.