Lots going on...

London is abuzz with international puppet theatre- though unfortunately most of the shows have not attracted the audiences they deserve. I saw Australian company Suitcase Royale at the Soho Theatre on Tuesday 12 July (reviewing the show for Animations Online) followed by Loco7 from New York City in In Retrospect at Wilson's Music Hall on 15 July, Canadian hand shadow puppeteer Jeff Achtem at the Udderbelly on the Southbank (17 July) and Thai troupe Joe Louis Puppet Company at Thai Square Restaurant at Sevenoaks (again on 17 July).

There are other shows I've had to miss too, including some interesting-looking student work at a youth theatre festival in Kingston.

Nobody really keeps track of all the puppet theatre flowing through London. The British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild has a pretty good listing section, but information is submitted voluntarily by people in the puppet community, and inevitably things are missed. I feel privileged to have the time and means as an academic to see so much, but wonder if more could not be made of the huge variety of stuff happening around London today, along the line perhaps of the Henson Foundation's Puppet Happenings (a weekly newsletter listing puppetry events in New York). Maybe something to suggest to the Puppet Centre Trust....

May Fayre 2011

Today was May Fayre, the annual gathering of Punch and Judy in Covent Garden. It is a joyous occasion which combines a family reunion of Punch performers from all over the country (sometimes with performing guests from overseas), debut performances, sale of wares (toy theatre stuff, food, crafts etc). The best Punchmen pull off superb performances laden with in-jokes. A very reflexive affair.

I watched on and off between 1.30 and 4.45 or so of the proceedings. A high point for me was definitely Glyn Edwards' show - pictured above. Glyn began with a ritual dance of 2 health and safety officers to grant health and safety to the audience - a clear parody of wayang and like traditions. The figures were re-dressed boxers with hankies. The music a polka or similiar.

The jokes came fast and furious. When the devil asked Punch is he knew who he was, Punch answered 'Brian Clarke.' The devil responded no, though this was the spot where Brian normally performed. (The senior puppeteer was unable to attend as he was reportedly ill. He did send 2 puppets though to be auctioned off for the benefit of the P&J Fellowship.) A ringing bell from the nearby church prompted the devil to ad-lib 'ask not for whom the bell rings'....

A delight.

The Rowers

This production of The Rowers, commissioned by the Puppet Working Group from model theatre maestro Robert Poulter, will be going to a paper theatre festival in France in May 2011.

Toy Theatre on the National Theatre's Flytower

I went last night (28/8/10) to see the final performance in a run of classic toy theatre plays directed by Horatio Blood and projected live on the National Theatre's Flytower. This was Blackbeard the Pirate, or, The Jolly Buckaneer, a nautical melodrama. It was performed by a small cast of actors, a musical duo of guitar and concertina (discovered busking by Horatio in Greenwich) and 2 or 3 backstage animators.

Horatio's outsized Corinthian stage was lit by strong lights from in front (with the glare shielded partially by an umbrella) and a video camera set up right in front. Details of the set and figures (mounted on wooden sliders) magnified brilliantly on to the tower. The core audience (made up of toy theatre followers and the curious) sat on deck chairs on the second floor mezanine and was in good humour throughout this short performance (about 30-40 minutes). We responded ably to the play's rousing patriotism, and while the play was condensed a bit too much for my taste (making the complicated plot hard to follow in places) the play provided a variety of contrasting scenes and effects- a battle at seas, sword fights, the appearance of a ghost, songs and memorable speeches.

Well worth the trip to the South Bank. Thank you National Theatre for organising this free event.

Joe Gladwin's Aladdin

Went with my daughter to see Joe Gladwin perform a 30 minute toy theatre Aladdin & His Wonderful Lamp at Tuttons Private Dining Rooms at Covent Garden. This show had been arranged by Peter Baldwin, who had been asked by the Covent Garden management to provide suitable Christmas-time entertainment.

It was a wonderful solo show, fast-moving (12 scenes), comical and entertaining- conforming in broad outline to the Arabian Nights tale we all know. Figures were based on 19th century toy theatre sheets by Pollock, Webb, Skelt and Green, blown up to a slightly larger size. Recorded sound for the music (which played constantly), but live voices and some live sound effects as well. A real tour de force.

My daughter and I spoke to Gladwin briefly before and after the show and got a close look at his set-up.

Gladwin backs his figures with acetate, attached to the paper by double-sided transparent cellotape. These are animated by sliders made from welding wire attach to wooden bases. All his figures are lined up stage left and right on pieces of paper where their names are written down. The script is on pieces of card that sit on the back of the proscenium. Footlights on the stage hide the sliders, and there are also lights above the stage and in front of the stage, as well as a row of 4 battery operated flickering candles directly in front of the proscenium. All the scenic backdrops have tabs attached to them, which allows for them to easily be taken out of the grooves.

Blind Summit's 1984

Went to see Blind Summit's new show, 1984, at the Battersea Arts Centre on Saturday night, after taking in the Little Angel show Petrushka. I'm reviewing the latter for Animations Online, but wanted to blog briefly about 1984.

Blind Summit, after the mainstream success of Low Life (based on Charles Bukowski's work), has made a huge reputation for collaborative work with companies around the UK. 1984 is its first major solo show since Low Life. (I was supposed to review a scratch showing of Call of the Wild at ROH a year or two back.) The company has intentionally embraced a low-tech approach to Orwell's book - using a variety of cardboard cut-outs and props, and much mime, along with a handful of puppets. They frame the story of Winston by having him and his lover Julia act out their tale with a propaganda troupe as part of their punishment. (Winston enters with a dunce camp with the words 'Thought Criminal' on it while Julia wears a cardboard signs saying 'whore').

The second half is too long (is this emphasis on torture due to Amnesty International being the show's sponsor?) but the piece is beautifully theatrical on the whole. 'The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism' is acted out at breakneck speed with carboard props; Charrington is revealed to be a puppet; Winston is hoisted up by other actors to make love to Julia.

Bukwoski, Orwell and Jack London... reads like the contents of a teenage boy's bedside bookshelf. I am enjoying this return to my own past...