Review: Multicolore, Polka Theatre

As part of Polka Theatre’s ongoing commitment to hosting high-quality international work, this year’s Big Dreams Festival offers very young audiences a little gem from Nantes-based Cie En Attendant La Marée. Multicolore is a gentle, beautifully crafted, wordless puppet show for 18 months plus. Only 30 minutes long, it explores difference, friendship and acceptance through the simplest of theatrical ingredients: colour, live sound and music.

Booth-like in its raised, open-stage design, the production creates an impressively detailed white world. Houses, gardens, flowers and the everyday objects that surround White’s home are exquisitely made, creating a tiny, carefully ordered universe. Crisp, simple lighting helps draw us into this miniature, safe and familiar space: a predictable life in an entirely white world.

White is perfectly happy. He plays his garden xylophone, tends his flowers and enjoys the reassuring sameness of life. Then, one morning, a single red flower appears among his pristine white blooms. A new neighbour arrives: Multicolour, who is rather more energetic and disruptive than White might like. But disruption can be a very good thing.

The contrast between the characters is perfectly realised through the puppetry. White’s movements are careful and contained, while Multicolour brings a more playful, exuberant energy. Without spoken words, the single puppeteer communicates everything through breathy, gentle gobbledegook sounds, and hand gestures demonstrating rhythmic musicality.

The live music and sound design are particularly effective. To mirror White’s ordered and sterile environment, the soundscape starts with minimalist, gentle and almost monotone acoustic elements. Clear, isolated notes and simple musical sounds create a clean, quiet canvas that feels untouched by complexity, perfectly matching White’s world. What begins as a sparse, almost monochromatic sound world gradually becomes richer and more playful as Multicolour’s influence grows. 

As colour bursts onto the stage, so does the sound. The music becomes richer, more playful and dynamic, developing rhythmic melodies with layers of live instrumentation. The live sound performer becomes part of the storytelling too, with a series of wonderfully inventive Foley effects – crunching, sliding, popping and other tiny noises that give texture and personality to this emerging world of colour. It is a lovely piece of theatrical storytelling, where what we see and hear constantly respond to one another. The changing musical language mirrors White’s journey from anxiety and uncertainty towards curiosity and acceptance.

Eventually, White ventures into his neighbour’s home. What initially feels strange becomes an invitation to play, and inside the now vibrantly colourful house – out of the audience’s view – the two happily chatter, laugh and make music together. The transformation is beautifully simple: the world hasn’t changed, but White’s understanding of it has, finding friendship in what was once an entirely colourless world: a reminder that for very young audiences, you don’t necessarily need a complicated story – sometimes a simple emotional journey is enough.

Maybe White was lonely; maybe he was perfectly happy before – we are never quite sure. What he now has, though, is choice and possibility. And that feels particularly relevant for the young children watching, who regularly encounter situations where everything initially feels unfamiliar – starting nursery, a first day with a childminder or simply meeting someone new. Multicolore understands that sometimes the biggest adventure is simply taking a first step.

There is something particularly lovely about Multicolore’s confidence in allowing its young audience to make their own connections. It doesn’t preach about difference or acceptance but instead lets them see and feel the pleasure that comes when two very different worlds meet.

Visually rich, playful and beautifully made, Multicolore is a small show with a big heart – a lovely reminder that sometimes the best thing in life is a little occasional colour.

Designed, developed and created by Gwénola Brossault and Fabrice Gaumer
Puppetry – Gwénola Brossault
Music and Technical Direction & Musician on Stage: Fabrice Gaumer
Outside Eye: Eric Leguyadec
Production Manager: Jean-François Réthoré

Multicolore has now finished its run at Polka Theatre. Further information about the company and future dates can be found below.