Edinburgh Fringe 2018
A Cockroach and Furry Blurry Fluffy Things
Team Furry Tails
Genre: Children's Theatre, Devised, Puppetry
Venue: Venue 13
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
A sad and lonely cockroach climbs out from a cardboard box; she doesn’t know where she is and there in front of her is a group of furry blurry fluffy things. What is she to do? Will she find some friends? Will the other creatures accept her? This is a charming and funny puppetry show for children and their family. Let’s join the adventure of the brave cockroach.
Review
This is a delightful family show for people of all ages – especially the young. It’s all told without dialogue so everyone can understand it. Images, shadow puppets, simple and creative sets, masked characters and so many animal puppets entertain and hold the attention of the young.
Light and catchy music plays through the show, changing mood according to what’s happening, sometimes the music is gentle and always upbeat. There are also interesting sound effects that accompany some moments in the story.
The story is about a cockroach, who goes on a journey – in search of, yes, you guessed it, food! However, she goes on a different journey further than expected and she meets different characters and animals along the way. She just wants to fit in and find a new place to live and be part of the community.
What makes this show interesting is the innovative way the Team Furry Tails company use low tech objects to create their puppets and sets…a blue plastic bag transforms into something new, cardboard is used for street scenes and a cheery waggy dog puppet is made of a piece of cloth and what looks like a small cardboard box to form a head, and so on. The show is all about using the imagination – on the part of both the puppeteers and the audience!
Our friendly cockroach grows and we meet cute cockroach puppets from small sizes to a large beautifully designed Bunraku style cockroach puppet, with three puppeteers to bring it to life (it’s not scary). The limbs are very well crafted and it’s fascinating to watch the movement. Even with tiny beady eyes, the puppet has so much impact with silent communication. This puppet is an excellent accomplishment by the talented puppeteers and performers of Team Furry Tails.
Even though there are no words in this story – they are not needed, because the visual imagery tells the story so well. Interactions between two puppets are clearly defined. This show is clever and thoughtful with humour that comes from the animal puppets, that is not forced.
Among the show’s themes are friendship, discovery and acceptance. As a show for families and young people, this story is positive, constructive and interesting, and it is very creative and imaginative. Recommended!
