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Day Three: Z is for Giraffe

No, that’s not a typo. That’s the name of the show I saw last night (day three of my trip), and boy it was a great start to the shows at the UNIMA 2008 festival. Z is for Giraffe was billed as a shadow puppetry show by the Sydney Puppet Theatre, and was performed at the Blue Room. 

First off, I want to say that having been a member of the mainly WA-based Theatre Australia site, I’ve read a lot about the Blue Room and was always curious as to what it was like. I’ve been in the venue a couple of days now, for my workshop, and I’m loving the place. It’s like La Mama on steroids. It’s a place I’d love to work in. The space is two storeys, with downstairs offering storage, admin/office space and a workshop area. Upstairs is the bar, and the theatre. The theatre itself is about 50 seats strong (I’m guessing, I didn’t count), no bio box, and is pretty much ‘black box’ theatre (ie. multifunctional). Everyone is friendly, and it’s nice working in such an environment… Plus, I really love the entrance to the theatre, which is painted with sparkly stars above and movie/theatre scenes on the walls. It’s a wonderful way to enter, since the rest of the building is pretty much non-characteristic. (See Flickr photos for some images of the walls) 

Anyway, the show: 

Walking in, you already see the set. It’s quite clearly designed for touring, and is nice and simple in terms of imagery. At the front, are three rostra, one higher than the other two, and this makes up the stage area (about 1m deep X 2m wide). Behind this sits a set of flats, each one with a round shape at the top, so it looks a little mediterranean. In the centre is a lovely painting of distant Middle Eastern buildings, and stage right there is a window cut out of the flat. Stage left is another window, but this one is backed with white gauze. Quite clearly the area for shadow puppetry. And either side of the set was a small speaker for sound. 

Please note: there are spoilers ahead!!!

My first impression of the set wasn’t much - I did like it - but unfortunately preshow lighting washed out all the colour, and so it was hard to tell what the set actually did look like. Luckily the lighting during the show was appropriate, and so there were no worries on lighting design. 

There was an almost full house, with puppeteers and families (kids even!) alike partaking of the show. Everyone enjoyed themselves, even the elder members - for it turns out the show was for kids! I didn’t know that when I booked, and I’m neither disappointed nor surprised. Having said that, I enjoyed the show immensely. 

Z is for Giraffe is a short story, told with puppets, about the journey of a giraffe from Egypt to France, where it was given as a present to King Charles X. Although billed as shadow puppetry, there were also marionettes, glove puppetry, and a little bit of object manipulation. The objects were small wooden versions of animals, which were later represented with shadow puppets. 

The shadow puppets weren’t just black and white, but had colour, and some of them even used different materials to show different textures and designs. Having not seen much puppetry in Melbourne, it was wonderful to see these amazing things: animal shadows had natural movement, as well as a few exciting features that made the show fun, while showcasing a natural world environment. All of it was so simple (and yet, I know some of it was very much complex behind the scenes), and so effective. 

The glove puppets appeared at the small window at stage right, and composed mainly of the human figures in the show. All of them were brilliant, particularly the Queen, who we discovered was a bit like Madonna, when Charles misunderstood something she said and removed her clothes! - Not only a great joke for adults and children, but an example of how the writer (Sue Wallace), also fit in a few jokes for the ‘parents’ too. Who else would get that the reason why the Sphinx doesn’t have a nose is because a bird picked it off? (Ok, the kids enjoy the picking the nose thing, but I don’t know of any kid who would put that two and two together) 

Marionettes also featured, and were quickly astounded by their use. The first scene was of a dancing lady, and a huge marionette and even bigger control appeared - imagine the control the size of a small desk in width! (Or that’s how it seemed!) But after a moment, we’re treated to the reason behind the control: smaller dancing marionettes are carefully hidden amongst the larger one, making it a lot of fun, and a few more surprises in store with it!… Plus, how could you not love the cheeky giraffe, who graces the stage so elegantly. 

The show epitomises fun: the performers, Sue Wallace and Steve Coupe, who make up the Sydney Puppet Theatre, appeared on stage refreshed and relaxed, and not once appeared flustered or tired. Even after the show. They both look like they are doing something they love, and both look like Z is for Giraffe is it. Their manipulation of all the puppets was faultless, with the humans being particularly human, and the animals being ever so natural I felt like I was watching a miniature zoo. Costume-wise, they were both wearing simple orange clothes, like those you’d find worn in a North African bizaar. 

The music, which consisted of both live and prerecorded items, was perfect. I especially enjoyed the first orchestral song, which was used during the introduction of the giraffes walking around Africa. It was not only suited to the location, but also evoked a majestic, ancient and mysterious world, where animals roam the earth unfettered, lazy and free. (Music composed by Steve Coupe) 

If I was a kid, I’d love this show - and that doesn’t matter, because I loved it as an adult too! I can imagine though that this production is extremely popular with children of all ages and of all interests. I have high standards when it comes to performances, and am known for being a harsh critic - but I really can’t fault this show! Everyone in the audience had a great time, a laugh, a positively curious and fascinated look at the puppets, and at no time did I hear anyone cough! 

After the show, we were all invited to look backstage if we liked - and I did. I won’t say what it was like, because that’s half the fun of puppetry; not knowing how it all works. But I also had a quick hello with Sue, who was very nice and mentioned to me that I should figure out what puppet medium I want to work with before going and finding a teacher. Which was some very good advice! 

All up, I give this show: (5 UNIMA stars out of 5)

Read Day Four of the diary here.