Famous Puppet Death Scenes
Famous Puppet Death Scenes - ★★★½ Kings Hall Theatre - Venue 73 - Ticketing Info 20:30 - Aug 2-5, 7-12, 14-19, 21-26
Famous Puppet Death Scenes...has to be pretty much what it says on the tin, right? My friend R had a spare ticket to this show, and so this was the afternoon pick.
Unrelated to the show itself. It’s the FIRST DAY of the Fringe and we went to get food an hour and half before the show and were told our chosen restaurant was so backed up it’d be an hour before we could get food. On the first day. Good Lord, I am not ready for this to be my life for a month.
Into the King’s Hall for the second time today, where upon entering the theatre were greeted by a dearly deceased puppet in his casket surrounded by flowers. On the stage was a frankly incredibly puppet staging area. I’ll admit, I was excited and the anticipation kicked in.
Since I’m not a real reviewer (Hey, look Ma! My second review!), I don’t know how much to spoil, but here’s one thing: The famous puppet deaths scenes, are not actually famous. You will not have scene them before, they are not drawn from history or popular culture, everything’s made up and the points don’t matter. (wait, is Who’s Line on this year?)
The performance of the Narrator puppet, Nathaniel Tweak< gives the show a strong start, with a kick of melancholic emotion that made me think about how long until I shuffle off this mortal coil. The show smoothly shifts gears into some short, but hilarious scenes that had myself and the rest of the audience rolling in the aisles.
The puppets themselves were detailed, complex, incredibly versatile, and used in a diverse number of ways. Each articulated differently, but unfortunately the puppets had static faces or at the most a mouth that would move. While the narrator and many of the characters were able to convey a huge amount of nuance an emotion through voice and gesture, not all shared this ability.
The puppeteers were often visible and even played roles in the show. This is where the lack of facial articulation on the puppets comes in, as these actors generally spoke very little but conveyed huge amounts through their facial expressions alone.
Also, I would have liked to see black gloves worn when they puppeteers weren’t actually part of the scene as bright stage lights and pale white hands drew my attention immediately...but I know nothing about puppetry so that might have been a huge hassle.
The strong vignettes were incredibly strong: Nathaniel Tweak, the German children’s show, the sleeping woman, the farmhouse. However, that only highlighted scenes that weren’t as strong. Due to the complicated sets and puppets, there was at least one obvious filler scene, that could have been hilarious but didn’t match tonally with where it landed in the show. There was a mix of laughter and melancholy, that can work quite well, but I don’t think the current running order has it completely figured out.
Ultimately it’s an impressive show that walks the line between black humour and drama, and gets the mix right about 2/3rds of the time. However, you will regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t see the Farmyard Scene, as I will be able to look at Duplo characters the same way again.