How to Be Indoors According to "Play School"

 I doubt Play School could have afforded an outdoor set like Sesame Street's even if it had wanted one, but rewatching the episode below it's interesting to note how different the focus of the UK's pre-school telly flagship was to that of America's. While Sesame Street excelled at showing you how to exist with others, Play School showed you how to be by yourself. I think these two were my two Play School presenters as well. My generation has so much to thank Derek Griffiths for: his music for Bod was a conscious introduction to the joys of jazz and his physical comedy was similarly freeing, teaching us all to embrace wobbliness like noone was watching. It's only rewatching this though that I remembered Chloe Ashcroft was also my favourite. She taught stillness, and listening. There's no trace of self consciousness to her banging on some tins, so when she breaks off to ask "But how did the music of the world begin?" it's a surprising segue, sure, but we're braced for surprises. So before I ever went to school I think I'd already learnt from these two how to play both comedy and drama respectively. I know Bagpuss gets all the praise, but you really can't beat paying attention to actual people, and Derek and Chloe reward that attention so well. What a great piece of theatre this is.

"Sticks of different lengths!"