I highly recommend visiting this post, as it has pictures of this show, including the overall set design which will be mentioned below. Show dates and touring info is given here.

Please note: there may be some spoilers ahead. You have been warned. I would actually also add this caution: I’m a big fan of Burkett’s, and pretty much am guaranteed to like his work. But then, I like his work for one reason, and that will become obvious by the end of this review.

Ronnie Burkett plays Billy Twinkle, a puppeteer who’s lost his passion for his work and becomes overcome with the spirit of his former mentor, Jim Diamond. Aboard a cruise ship, Twinkle relives his life and his journey through puppetry, from a bright-eyed teen forcing his way into Diamond’s life, to old hand puppeteer living with his boyfriend. Burkett plays the ‘present’ Twinkle, while puppets play out the younger versions of the character. As with all of Burkett’s shows, he performs solo and uses more than 20 puppets (I think I counted 26).

Despite Burkett’s protestations during my interview, some of the show really does seem autobiographical. Burkett was very precocious and he often tells of how he one day turned up on a puppeteer’s doorstep to get some training; he also stated that his parents happily sent him on a trip to a puppet festival on his own at a young age. Both of these end up in Billy Twinkle. I don’t doubt that he draws from his own life and experiences - anyone within puppetry will immediately understand the puppetry festival stuff sewn into the plotline; or Doreen Gray’s Jesus puppet (in my interview, I had called her ‘Lady with Puppet Jesus’, because that’s what Burkett called her at the time); or indeed Doreen’s need to go flock a puppet. I suspect that many of these little jokes will resonate more with puppeteers than with the general public, although they won’t go over the general public’s heads. In fact, Doreen herself will probably seem like just a weird and novel character within Burkett’s imagination; and won’t realise just how representative she is of some of the puppetry community. 

Additionally, there is a wonderful delight to see Burkett on stage playing the puppeteer’s puppeteer. This happened before in Tinka’s New Dress (Burkett’s previous work, and the first of his shows brought to Australia; Provenance came after, then Ten Days on Earth… info about these retired shows can be found at his website), but in this case it is even more enjoyable, especially when we have the vertical visual of Burkett operating a marionette, which is also operating a marionette. Even this was given an added boost, when Billy (the marionette) was holding his own marionette, and was showing it to Jim Diamond. Unfortunately, Billy and Diamond got caught together, and Burkett turned an accident into a light-hearted joke. Improvisation is also Burkett’s strong suit, and he does well in a situation like this. 

(On a personal note: I found myself thinking how lucky I was last week, and how special I was. The several hundred theatre was filled with people, and I am probably the only person there who had the opportunity to interview Burkett. The content of the show was such that I, for the first time, realised that puppetry is now my community, not just something that I have joined, but something that has also embraced me back. Since becoming web admin for UNIMA Australia, I have not really considered it before; tonight it occurred to me that I was a representative for a national organisation for puppetry. I have come very far in just a few years… Additionally the circle completion of Diamond/Billy and Billy/Rockette as the mentor meeting the newbie is particularly highlighted for me. It wasn’t long ago when I first contacted Burkett for advice, and tomorrow I will be meeting a uni student who is interviewing me about puppetry. The idea of passing it on, of ‘being the next’ is a beautiful example of how willing and open puppeteers are.)

If I recall correctly from my recent interview, this is the first time Burkett has used blinking eyes on his marionettes (he also has a moving mouth on one of them). At first I was rather unimpressed - even from the front row centre seats, it was hard to see the blinking movement - but in the scene where Billy (the marionette) finds out his teacher and mentor has died, I was converted. The simple action of the puppet closing its eyes at the news conveyed all of the emotion and said more than words could have about the character’s feelings. The blinking eyes issue was also something that perhaps only puppeteers would have noticed - each eye can be controlled separately, and on occasion would be semi-closed or winking at inappropriate times. However, this is so slight as to not be noticed by any member of the general public. I would also add this comment to the moving mouth, which was somewhat out of synch with the words to be of a good effect. 

In an unusual step, Burkett presents Jim Diamond in glove puppet form. To me, this was highly distracting, mainly because it’s clear that Burkett’s talents lie with the strings, and not with the glove. The general public would consider this an insult; rather, it’s a compliment. You don’t ask a master pastry cook to create a soup and expect it to be as good as their pastries. Why was it distracting? Because I just couldn’t feel any character coming from the puppet; it was just a glove on Burkett’s hand, rather than a character in itself… for the most part. Towards the end, ‘Billy’/Burkett sits and listens to how Diamond was in a golden era of puppetry, taking Shakespearean marionettes all over the country. Suddenly, in this quiet moment, Diamond the glove puppet came to life.

This is, I feel, an overall example of Billy Twinkle; I generally love Burkett’s mile-an-hour text, but I felt in this particular performance, there was not enough still moments to create contrast. And in all of his shows, Burkett seems to create his best moments - an electric, got-the-audience-in-your-hands, attentive moment - from those silences or stillnesses. Provenance, even with the heavy text, seemed to take its time; Tinka’s New Dress unfolded in our laps; Ten Days on Earth had beautiful stillnesses where we are given a melancholic insight into loneliness. For me, there just wasn’t enough of those moments. But here again, this is just such a subjective opinion that I would hardly call it a criticism. Indeed, there were many moments where I found myself holding my breath at the depth of the characters, and the power of the emotion emanating from them. 

But let’s continue discussing the puppetry: there are a few tricks up Burkett’s sleeves, more trick puppetry than I’ve seen him use, and a lot of it to great effect. As usual, his workmanship on his puppets are magnificent. Seeing them up close during my interview, I appreciate this even more. Everything he does is exquisitely detailed, and subtly at that: two versions of Billy marionettes are dressed similarly, but to indicate difference in age, the clothes of one are faded. Indeed, if you are a beginner puppet maker - or experienced! - I recommend spending some time studying Burkett’s work, as it’s an excellent example of making ‘realistic‘ puppets for the stage.

The sound design was good - although as always, I tend to not notice at all really - and was appropriate for the show. Predominantly the music was atmospheric, or provided background to certain stage numbers performed by Billy and his puppets. Lighting was wonderful, full of gobos and colours, to match the glamour of a cruise ship puppeteer. I was particularly entranced by the cyc lighting the back of the mini stage (the first image on my interview page, the red curtains open to reveal a cyc), and a wonderfully effective gobo series creating ’stars’ across the back of the stage and a moon… something. Too realistic for a gobo, but it didn’t seem projected either. Anyway, it was very good, whatever it was. Burkett’s costume too was ideal; a cross between a mime and a cruise ship employee. 

The set design I thought was simple enough to convey the sense of being on a ship, whilst allowing some unusual staging. (You can see the image of the set at the link above) In traditional Burkett style, you can see him while he works all of his puppets - typically a marionette stage will hide the puppeteers. In his type of work, it’s necessary to see the performance the whole time; the 2 hour show has no interval, he’s the only person onstage, and the text is so full on that there are no opportunities for hiding behind the set for a breather. My only concern with the set is that the stairs, and hence the whole marionette-hanging structure, wobble quite easily, and there were many times I held my breath for fear of some sort of breakage. I sincerely hope his set designer jumped up and down on it before handing it over for touring, in order to test the strength of it. 

To be honest, Billy Twinkle is not my favourite of Burkett’s repertoire; I prefer the darker work of Tinka’s New Dress, or the deeper characters of Ten Days on Earth. But this is just a personal thing, and any audience member who hasn’t seen other performances by Burkett won’t be disappointed. Earlier this year, discussing the Avenue Q tour on a theatre forum site, I recommended that people see Burkett to compare and contrast. If Avenue Q is what people think puppetry is all about, then they should see Burkett’s work (see my review of Avenue Q here for comparison). They will pleasantly be surprised to learn that puppetry can and does outrank many ‘normal’ theatre performances out there, as well as outclassing much of the puppetry currently showing anywhere in the world. Billy Twinkle shows just how much beauty, depth and complexity that puppetry can provide - but that is pretty much a summary of Burkett’s work, and why he is adored by the public and the puppetry community itself. He represents what we do, and represents it with excellence. Although Billy Twinkle isn’t my favourite, it’s never disappointing to see a great puppeteer on stage. And if you’re a beginner - or experienced - in puppetry, this is a must see, whether you’re a performer or a builder. Burkett is simply a great example of puppet making and puppet performance. Where many puppeteers are putting on shows, seemingly because they prefer to ‘hide’ behind the character (it’s in between acting and teching if you ask me) and don’t have a sense of performance or scriptwriting, Burkett is, as he said to me last week, a performer. He truly understands what it is to create a compelling show, and does it every time. Billy Twinkle is no exception.

If you’re in Sydney, you can still see this show: Billy Twinkle will be on at the Opera House at the end of the Melbourne tour. More info is here. Read the review? Now listen to my interview with Ronnie.