Review: The Animator, Southwark Playhouse

Lotte Reiniger, the unsung heroine of early animation, pioneered techniques that shaped the art form. She invented the multiplane camera in 1923 and went on to create the first feature-length animated film in colour. Her story is the subject of Akimbo Theatre’s ambitious new play. Yet for all Reiniger’s spirit and brilliance, this production has more of an air of bewilderment than inspiration.

For a play titled The Animator, there is surprisingly little animation. The cast gather round an old-school overhead projector that is synced up to a large screen making up the back of the thrust stage. But the effect is undermined as the cast repeatedly block the view, leaving moments of silhouette play – which begins to occur after Lotte (Lexie Baker) arrives at the Institut für Kulturforschung – frustratingly obscured. In a piece so dependent on projection, this feels like a cardinal sin. Worse still, the live experimentation soon gives way to pre-recorded sequences, depriving us of the thrill of seeing animation created in real time.

As Lotte, Lexie Baker does a good job of depicting a determined but cautious young woman with a passion for film. But the first act struggles to find momentum. Richard Durning’s Bertolt Bartosch drifts into caricature – closer to Mr Humberfloob from Cat in the Hat than to a collaborator in a pioneering studio – which feels totally out of kilter with the rest of the cast. Halvor Schultz brings warmth and restraint to Karl Koch, who goes on to become Lotte’s husband in a delicately handled subplot. His chemistry with Lexie Baker is charming and believable, offering a welcome anchor in an otherwise uneven opening.

If the institute is to be successful in producing the first feature length animation, funds need to be generated. A detour into the German cabaret scene brings colour but little coherence. Flo Wiedenbach dazzles as Candy, decked out in lavish feathers, but the sequence lurches from a Charleston routine to pounding techno in a mash-up that overstays its welcome. By the interval, confusion was palpable in the auditorium.

The second act, however, is far more measured. The role of censorship and the rise of Nazism clearly play a crucial role in halting Lotte’s development, and this is played out well by Owen Bleach’s menacing Censor. For the first time it feels like there are stakes, as he laments to a dejected Lotte and Karl: ‘let me show you how ephemeral art can be’. A screening of Lotte’s work follows, which is delicate, enchanting and poignant, before her film, and her hopes, burn before our eyes.

There are flashes of satisfaction here, and the play finds its feet when Lotte’s genius manages to pierce through. But the production ultimately lacks focus. And for a woman who brought such innovation to the art of animation, this scattered tribute does not do her justice.

Director, Dramaturg and UK Producer: Rosanna Mallinson
Dramaturg: Flo Wiedenbach
Set Designer: Jonathan Ben-Shaul
Sound Designer: Richard Durning
Lighting Designer: Clancy Flynn
Fight Choreographer: Pierre Moullier
Costume Designer: Lexie Baker
Production Manager: Owen Bleach

The Animator plays at Southwark Playhouse until Saturday 30 August.