Edinburgh Fringe 2018
Woogie Boogie
BRUSH Theatre LLC
Genre: Children's Theatre, Family, Visual Art
Venue: Summerhall
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
The vividly stunning screen show of BRUSH Theatre. Fantastic ocean with a lyrical story and vivid illustration. Shiny, sandy beach with live sound effects. Touching story singing the sorrow of parting and expectation of new meeting. Theatrical imagination and an abundant variety of attractions.
Review
Two performers bring this show to life through their excellent physical storytelling and interactive skills. Created for young audiences and their families, this show creates it’s own unique world through the use of shadows, animation, and music. The storyline is about sea creatures – plus several brief inspiring detours.
Onstage, the set is a very large white screen, which is where the magic happens in Brush Theatre’s creative production. On the low-tech opaque screen, the two compelling performers make shadows, draw, and animate small puppets. The style of the storytelling is innovative and fun, holding the attention of the youngest in the audience as well as the grown ups! Also, the way the performers interact with each other and the audience is charming and sets the perfect tone to appeal to people of all ages.
Two musicians play inviting music on a keyboard with computer sound effects throughout the show, adding to the flow and dynamic of the production. The story is told without words, so everyone can understand it easily. Through the use of mime, facial expression, physical acting the cast creates the story live, in front of the audience! A lot goes into making this show work live, and although the story may seem simple on its surface, the complex production is made up of many parts and is well coordinated. Timing is everything!
While technology is an important part of our lives, this show is very much hands on – but with clever use of artistic technology that is wondrous! Therefore, it’s a welcome break from our own devices to enjoy the surprises and imaginative storytelling, which is intelligent and humourous – yet not condescending or forced.
The show is well designed and acted and starts gently with the performers doing simple drawings, which are very engaging, and then the piece builds, with different visual ideas, which are fascinating and very entertaining. Examples of the visual story include shadow play with a performer’s hands – that seem magical, a turtle puppet who can move mysteriously, a few fish, an underwater scene and more creatures and ideas in this Woogie Boogie world.
This is an imaginative and delightful original show that will appeal to families. It is entertaining, fun and inventive. Who knows, this could be motivation to start drawing to see what happens – Highly Recommended!
