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Assembly George Square – The Box
Some really lovely moments of puppetry, inventive foley sound and technology, but with a narrative that is sadly incomprehensible.Summary
Rating
Ok
It’s wonderful to see the wide range of international performers at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, and particularly exciting to see what they offer for the very youngest audiences. Bon Appetit Theatre are a Taiwanese company, who this year bring Little Drops of Rain to the Assembly George Square, at The Box. It’s aimed at ages 3+.
The story of a small girl and her encounters with water, there are some truly lovely elements to the show. It’s performed by two actors who quickly establish a wonderfully welcoming space, and are focused and synchronised in their performance throughout. They are supported by a duo of musician/technicians, who use light and shadow to create interesting images across the walls and ceiling of the venue. However, it’s their use of foley sounds enhanced by technological processes that is at the heart of the show’s successes. A multiplicity of unusual objects are used in combination with electronic distortion and amplification effects to represent natural elements such as the wind, rain and storms. Bottles, rice, tinsel, tubes to blow through are all exploited as devices to create a delightfully evocative environment.
There are also lovely moments of song in the soundtrack that shift the mood, at times bringing happy sunshine or a kawaii cheeriness that will be familiar to and welcomed by most small children who enjoy cartoons.
This kawaii styling is also very appealing in the puppetry, the main character being a likeable young girl created from exploded pieces. It’s a wonderful technique to encourage imaginative engagement, with the children mentally filling in the gaps, and this audience clearly delighted in the playfulness of the characterisation. Additionally we encounter a friendly rain cloud, dancing wellies, floating bottles and found objects that are all used to tell the tale.
But it’s here that a key problem arises. As a grown adult I found it really difficult to follow the story, possibly because it was so abstract or even too complex, but maybe because I’m just missing some cultural knowledge in translation – who knows? The child seems to have parents who go away, leaving her on her own to water the plants, but there’s no water. I couldn’t identify what prompted the departure. She makes friends with a man with a big pot and a storm cloud, but I have no clue who he was or why he was there. The dad comes back but not the mum. What happened? The children around me were initially enjoying the performance and sat upright and attentive for some time, but after a while they clearly disengaged, unable to understand what was going on.
Undisputably, this is a show with a great many pluses but it needs a rethink. Without a simple, coherent narrative this very young audience will just get lost and leave disappointed. And that’s a real shame as there’s a great deal of potential here.
Produced by Bon Appetit Theatre
Director: Hsin-Huei Hung
Little Drops of Rain runs at as part of the Edinburgh Fringe until 25 August. Further details and how to book can be found here.
