It's said the world was made in seven days; The Naive Theatre Liberecdid it in forty-five minutes.
Contemporary alchemy, Cabinet of Miracles already sets this year's Imaginate festival with a flourish of promoting creativity and a natural curiosity, driven by inspiration. Inspired by John Amos Commenius' famous Orbis Pictus textbook, this show from the CzechRepublic is a theatrical introduction for young audiences (ages five – nine) to the world around them.
Compacting four and a half billion years of history into one show is quite the task but conjuring the miracles of life with a storytelling repertoire of puppetry, illusions, and sleight of hand reflects the wonder of curiosity while maintaining a respect for the science and context behind the various scenes. Directed by Michaela Homolová, audiences are guided through the true 'miracles' of Earth – the plant life and faun, and the very fact that all these elements come together to sustain life.
HzaBažant's enormous cabinet is a three-dimensional storybook, revealing each of the show's scenes and changes, usually through a central micro-stage, complete with a red curtain. Each of the five performers pulls curious from the shelves (some obvious, others hidden) in a dazzling range of playful ideas: tiny clouds which when puffed with a gust of air, enlarge into huge storm clouds lingering above the main stage. A great deal of the show hinges on sleight of hand and misdirection, the entire team honed to an impressive level of competency.
Flora, fauna, humanities triumph, and right through to the emergence of technology, each element feeds through an understanding of scientific properties and introduces them to young children through a more fantastical medium. Archaeology is certainly more fun with strings, while taxidermy and mechanics all fit snuggly into puppetry of a different guise. The traversal of time and topic is woven through thanks to a blue orb which powers the cabinet and gets up to mischief as it helps bring all the curious to life: the pacing only wavering slightly in the transition towards a more 'familiar' world where wonder sadly isn't quite as mystical as it's 'old world' counterparts.
Providing live music, acting as both a conductor and puppet master, FilipHomola sits atop the cabinet surrounded by instruments and objects to pull together the show's score – which often is utilised more for impact with the visuals, than an overarching atmosphere.
Where better to begin, than with the tiniest of tots and theatre for babies – an idea once relegated to the 'yuppy' concepts of extravagant behaviours. And yet, the Edinburgh International Children's Festival begins with a steady dismantling of any indulgent ideas surrounding performance for babies. The least of which is because it's not just these little ones mesmerised by Barcelona-based Engruna Teatre's Univers.
One of the opening pieces of the festival's partnered Catalonian season, the show designed for the under-twos brings in a much older and more diverse crowd than some may initially suspect. An exploration of space, texture, lighting, and shape, with a series of tubes and orbs all taking place in the Assembly Roxy space. Initial anxieties from the youngsters (or self-conscious parents) fade as two dancers, MariaBallus and AnnaFarriol, gradually push the shapes and objects towards the front lines of the audience, most of the children unable to contain their glee, becoming more comfortable and engaged with the show.
Accompanied by JordiSala's live score, which provides that final level of sensory tantalisation, the illumination of the spheres and the rippling containers all come together in a remarkably subtle production which embraces an early sense of discovery and curiosity.
For immersive theatre, of the puppetry variety no less, Cia. Ortiga'sAn-Ki is a powerfully poetic experience for young audiences to come face-to-face with the origins and destiny of humanity in a safe and intimate space.
A mixture of environmental crisis and fantasy, encroaching shadows cover the forests just outside Adja's hometown, perfectly emulated in a tent located in the SummerhallCourtyard. Audiences wander into a scaled-down world of miniature trees, homes, and ships, and eventually, we are introduced to Adja themselves – an intricate puppet full of life and magic, brought to life with IngridCodina and GuillemGeronès marvellously realised writing that channels contemporary concerns of the environment into a timeless sense of storytelling.
Separating the audience into smaller groups, we receive a far more wonderous sense of exploration and scale, the process of interactive puppetry continues this festival's determination to draw the audience closer to the performance space – encouraging us to explore, plant seeds and breathe in the same air as the slumbering giant. The rasping sounds of the sea and ships' cabins all whirl together in a terrific design.
Emerging from the shadows, it's unlikely any of the audience will leave with the same mindset as they entered in this promenade style of puppetry theatre where imagination firmly roots itself with reality, fruiting into a superb production, and one of the festival's highlights.
Cabinet of Miracles ran at The Studio May 27th - 29th Univers ran at the Assembly Roxy May 27th - 29th An - Ki runs at the Summerhall Courtyard May 27th - June 2nd
Review by Dominic Corr
Editor for Corr Blimey, and a freelance critic for Scottish publications, Dominic has been writing freelance for several established and respected publications such as BBC Radio Scotland, The Skinny, Edinburgh Festival Magazine, The Reviews Hub, In Their Own League The Wee Review and Edinburgh Guide. As of 2023, he is a member of the Critic's Award for Theatre Scotland(CATS) and a member of the UK Film Critics.
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