The Table at Brighton Pavilion - Puppetmaster class
Last night I saw possibly one of the most imaginitive and original puppetry in ages. No wonder their Edinburgh show sold out. Titled 'The Table', it was described as:
"Moses the puppet invites you to his home, the Table, where he experiences real and surreal visions in Blind Summit Theatre's imaginative show combining puppetry and dark humour."
The first act involved their main character animated by three puppeteers who bascially introduced himself, his imaginery landscape on the table and his failing persistance to reinact Moses' last 12 hours according to the Bible. The humour was subtle but mature and dark in places but at times had everyone in stitches especially as it seemed there was an improvisation moment when the puppets hand fell off.
Here's a YouTube clip showing the Moses puppet:
The second act was a clever use of a wall with portrait frames which the puppeteers animated with masks. Again, a very clever scene and changed the mood for more of a dance/expression scene to music.
The third was possibly the most original. I'm not going to give it all away at what happened but it involved drawings on paper and a love story. It was such a simple idea but one of the most original.
Japanese inspiration?
The style of puppetry reminded me of the Japanese kuroko where stage hands would dress in all black to blend in with the background. The funniest example I've seen was before our trip to Japan when we came across Japanese TV's Kasou Taishou and the Matrix style ping-pong sketch (quality isn't great due to it being uploaded in 2006 - in internet years that's ancient!).
Where to see The Table next
The group are touring across the South East and will be back in Brighton at The Old Market Theatre as part of the Brighton Festival Fringe on the 7th or 8th May. Tickets cost £12.00 via the Fringe website.
"Moses the puppet invites you to his home, the Table, where he experiences real and surreal visions in Blind Summit Theatre's imaginative show combining puppetry and dark humour."
The first act involved their main character animated by three puppeteers who bascially introduced himself, his imaginery landscape on the table and his failing persistance to reinact Moses' last 12 hours according to the Bible. The humour was subtle but mature and dark in places but at times had everyone in stitches especially as it seemed there was an improvisation moment when the puppets hand fell off.
Here's a YouTube clip showing the Moses puppet:
The second act was a clever use of a wall with portrait frames which the puppeteers animated with masks. Again, a very clever scene and changed the mood for more of a dance/expression scene to music.
The third was possibly the most original. I'm not going to give it all away at what happened but it involved drawings on paper and a love story. It was such a simple idea but one of the most original.
Japanese inspiration?
The style of puppetry reminded me of the Japanese kuroko where stage hands would dress in all black to blend in with the background. The funniest example I've seen was before our trip to Japan when we came across Japanese TV's Kasou Taishou and the Matrix style ping-pong sketch (quality isn't great due to it being uploaded in 2006 - in internet years that's ancient!).
Where to see The Table next
The group are touring across the South East and will be back in Brighton at The Old Market Theatre as part of the Brighton Festival Fringe on the 7th or 8th May. Tickets cost £12.00 via the Fringe website.
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