Review: Blub, Polka Theatre

As part of Polka Theatre’s ongoing commitment to bringing high-quality international work to London, this summer’s offer for children aged 6–18 months is Blub, a gently playful piece by Vienna-based Theater Nuu.

As the audience is welcomed into an underwater world, it is clear this will be a highly relaxed experience, with babies encouraged to crawl and explore the performance space right from the outset. The two performers, Sarah Gaderer and Laura-Lee Jacobi, unfold this watery tale, often stepping gently amidst and around the children. Part movement, part simple dance, framed by a mix of live and sampled music on xylophone, recorder and clarinet, the performers’ hands first become gentle schools of fish, chasing and scurrying with the ebb and flow of the sea currents. Then we meet turtles, again simply shaped by their hands, alongside other sea creatures – octopus, urchins, sponges and anemones. As the performers become more expansive, using their full bodies, we encounter seaweed and other marine plant life, illustrated through swaying arms and legs.

At one point, plastic bags emerge, floating through the world. At first this seems to be a reference to sea plastic pollution, before simple object manipulation reveals them instead as graceful jellyfish. Later, as time passes and the bright sunlight that initially shines through the blue canopy above the performing space dims into an evening hue, we dive deeper underwater. The performers bring tiny handheld lights into the action, animating the sea creatures and introducing us to a new series of deep-sea fish that playfully move in and around the audience.

There is much to admire here, particularly in the beautifully crafted environment. Seated in the round, audiences find themselves in a gorgeous ocean-bed world of colourful crocheted coral, knitted rocks, shells and pebbles, with some creatures animatedly emerging as if awoken from the caves and crevices made from soft, textured felt. Apparently, 500,000 metres of wool have been used to create this seascape of coral reefs, with all the makers credited – and there are a lot of them.

The challenge is that the theatrical world created is perhaps more successful than the dramaturgy that takes place within it. Blub has a very simple narrative, supported by language and song, mainly in German. Even without understanding the words, the rhyme and alliteration of the text bring much-needed bursts of energy and variation to this otherwise gentle world. But at around 40 minutes, there is little variation in pace or intensity, and the piece can begin to feel more like an extended lullaby than a theatrical journey. For an audience of babies, there is a fine line between creating a calm space for discovery and allowing the energy to become too flat. Perhaps that is entirely intentional, but a little more theatrical and dramaturgical variation would help sustain the sense of discovery.

With its strong sensory detail, imaginative design and genuinely child-led exploration, the final play-and-stay session extends the invitation to discover, allowing children to continue engaging with the environment at their own pace. Blub succeeds wonderfully as a gentle sensory experience and as a celebration of the craft and imagination that can create an entire ocean from wool, light and simple movement. What it perhaps needs is a little more theatrical variety and energy to bring this enchanting ocean world fully to life.

Performers: Sarah Gaderer, Laura-Lee Jacobi
Musician on stage: Manuel Riegler
Music: Manuel Riegler, Ángela Tröndle
Set Design Concept: Michael Haller
Choreography: Stefanie Sommer
Costume and Set Design Realisation: Johanna Baumgartner, Ulrike Bugram, Milena Eder, Helene Gaderer, Sarah Gaderer, Elisabeth Holl, Brigitte Jacobi, Laura-Lee Jacobi, Jana Kilbertus, Renate Krenmair, Mirjana Lindenberger, Ljubica Neuschl, Ruth Olbrich, Marianne Reisinger, Kathi Vitus

Blub continues at Polka Theatre untl Sunday 23 August.