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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Low Life
Verdict: Reality and dream-like possibility
Blind Sumit Theatre - with a variety of puppets ranging from miniature to almost life-sized - perform a collection of sketches inspired by the short stories and poetry of Charles Bukowski.
Each tale describes visually, with actions, words and music, the lives of the humdrum and good-for-nothing that frequent the same bar. The stories are simple - which allows the puppeteers ample scope to reveal their creativity in unexpected and surreal ways.
Usually, when nothing much happens, an audience can become bored and restless. But here there is freedom to indulge escapism and discover subtle nuances in the puppets' expressions - which unveils hidden extents of character and emotional state.
Within each framework, the puppets create a magical place where the implausible becomes real. A tiny Kevin Spacey lookalike mistakes his girlfriend for a dog (Giulia Innocenti). No attempt is made to conceal the puppeteers - questioning the relationship between puppets and people. It's a refreshing approach to puppetry, and creates a new level of interaction - between puppeteer and puppet.
Detail in figure and face differs in each puppet. As they decrease in detail, their characters have more to say - making up for their lack of physical expression. And the most life-like puppets (especially Mildred the failed West End star) - those which are meticulously crafted - need say nothing at all. Their expressive features do the talking and miraculously change and develop with increasing understanding of the story that is being told.
Man in My Shadow - though filled with South Park wit - drags on. An episode of slow-motion puppets being knocked from limb to limb - which appears in most of the sketches - though highly inventive, seems out of place here.
As a complete performance, Blind Summit brilliantly evokes the atmosphere of Bukowski’s America. Low Life suggests Tom Waits's music, Edward Hopper's painting Nighthawks, and an abundance of other chronicled lonely waifs and placeless folk. There's a concern with intense realness of living, and existential questions of life. Low Life takes these and turns them upside down - contrasting reality with dream-like possibility.
Cast Credits: (alpha order): Nick Barnes. Finn Caldwell. Mark Down. Giulia Innocenti.
Company Credits: Devised - Blind Summit Theatre. Director - Mark Down. Designer & Puppet Maker - Nick Barnes. Lighting Design - Fiona Simpson. Technician - Bob Mitchell. Costume Adviser - Dulcie Best. Company - Blind Summit Theatre. Website - http://www.blindsummit.com/. Email - info@blindsummit.com.
END
(c) Lara Apponyi 2006
reviewed Friday 20 January 06 / BAC
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
