Edinburgh Fringe 2026
The Raft of the Crab
Ninon Noiret
Genre: Circus, Dance, Physical Theatre, Puppetry, Solo Show
Venue: Assembly
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
When a crustacean gatecrashes your birthday party and drags you into an odyssey of the mind, recovery becomes anything but ordinary. This striking true story from Ninon Noiret explores her experience with cancer and her journey to recovery. Told through “nasty” puppetry, contemporary dance and gravity-defying stunts on a five-metre Chinese Pole, The Raft of the Crab is a powerful exploration of the individual nature of physical illness and what it really takes to recover.
Review
Presented by Ninon Noiret as part of Made in Scotland this production tells the story of Noiret’s own battle and recovery with cancer, expressed through puppetry, contemporary dance and skills on the Chinese Pole. Noiret performs this solo show with non verbal and verbal sections. An interesting device is when Noiret runs to the microphone on a stand down stage, several times, where she narrates parts of her story direct to the audience. These moments work quite well, and later in the second half when she speaks directly to audience members, she shows a spirited personality with an upbeat attitude which is quite compelling.
During the first half, after several movement sections which would benefit from more specificity and development, a large life-size puppet is manipulated in various ways and she carries it around the stage. A more successful puppetry section is in the second half of the show, when Noiret manipulates a smaller strikingly pale and slim version to show the challenging times she lived though when undergoing cancer treatment. The puppet is well designed and the way Noiret moves the limbs is effective.
The stage set is attractive with props placed across the stage to evoke a boat and the sea. Downstage right is a large fishing basket covered in nets and what looks like several highly colourful toy fish, the latter which do not seem to match the rest of the set. A large sail is set later on very effectively. In between sections Noiret jumps on the several metre high Chinese Pole and performs daring jumps, leaps and catches naturally and skilfully. She moves and twists physically well in interesting sequences.
However, as much as the personal story is undoubtedly compelling and Noiret herself has a certain stage presence and adept physical skills, the crafting, dramaturgy and theatre making of this current show does not support a one hour production. The stronger sections are in the second half and perhaps a reassessment and starting point could distill them into one quarter of the currently allotted time. Thus after running this brief scene or two in front of small audiences, areas for elaboration might unfold, when Noiret chooses to develop this show for future performances.
