Amelia’s Magazine | Review: The Devil and Mister Punch by Improbable at the Barbican

The Devil and Mister Punch by Jane Mcguinness
The Devil and Mister Punch by Jane Mcguinness.

Following hot on the heels of some great puppetry at the London International Mime Festival, the Barbican is hosting the new show, The Devil and Mister Punch, from the renowned Improbable theatre company.

The Devil and Mister Punch
Founded in 1996 by four artistic directors, this production was put together by Julian Crouch and is based on an ongoing obsession with the tradition of Punch and Judy. Here he picks apart the darker aspects of this strangest of British traditions… I mean, think about it: a man who beats his daughter and his wife? A rampaging crocodile, here in the UK?!

Devil and Mister Punch croc
The Devil And Mr Punch_Bat and Mask by Gareth A Hopkins
The Devil And Mr Punch by Gareth A Hopkins.

An assortment of strange characters joins the more familiar cast, including dancing piglets, a typing dog, a singing bull and a scarily oversized Punch. The cliches of puppetry are picked apart with delightful knowing, the live folk music which accompanies the action is exquisite, the staging is incredibly clever and best of all it’s very funny!

The-Devil-and-Mr-Punch-by-Mat-Pringle
The Devil and Mister Punch by Mat Pringle.

The Devil and Mister Punch by Jason Lear
The Devil and Mister Punch by Jason Lear.

I can’t remember when I last saw a Punch and Judy show: just when it looks as though this strange tale may be in danger of dying out the Improbable performance is a timely reminder of the stories that have shaped our national psyche. Look out especially for the underwater scene and a body popping skeleton – some of the more surreal tangents ensure that not all of it makes sense, but The Devil and Mister Punch is a great way to spend an evening.

Devil and Mister Punch set

The Devil and Mister Punch plays in The Pit until the 25th February and is a must see for anyone interested in history, morality or social mores as well as contemporary set design and staging. More details can be found on the Barbican website.

The Devil And Mr Punch_Gallows by Gareth A Hopkins
The Devil And Mr Punch by Gareth A Hopkins.

Categories ,barbican, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,Harvey and Hovey, ,Invisible Thread, ,Jane McGuinness, ,Jason Lear, ,JL Illustration, ,Julian Crouch, ,London International Mime Festival, ,Mat Pringle, ,Pigs, ,Plucked, ,Punch and Judy, ,Puppetry, ,Puppets, ,review, ,The Devil and Mister Punch, ,The Pit, ,theatre, ,Vaudeville

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Amelia’s Magazine | London International Mime Festival Review: Plucked… a true fairy tale by Invisible Thread

Invisible Thread by Janneke de Jong
Invisible Thread by Janneke de Jong.

The London International Mime Festival has quickly become one of my January highlights – c’mon, what else is there to get excited about during this miserable (taxing) month? – and my first performance of the season was a puppetry show at the London Roundhouse. The puppetry shows are always appealing because they invariably showcase some stunning leftfield creativity of the type that would never find its way onto a bigger theatre stage. And the Mime Festival picks out the cream of the crop so you are almost certainly assured of an interesting performance.

Invisible Thread review
Invisible Thread review
Plucked… a true fairy tale was created by new company Invisible Thread, directed by Liz Walker, who is a former director of the Faulty Optic theatre of animation. She brings her expertise in creating ‘cronky mechanical sets‘ and odd animated figures to her new project, which features a couple of bird people, a baby train, a little person with a hammer in its head and a wolf with a detachable penis that looks like a hallucinogenic mushroom.

Plucked invisible thread by katie chappell
Plucked, invisible thread by Katie Chappell.

The story (such as there is one) sprawls across two scenes, with near life size figures manipulated by Liz and cohorts. Despite the fact that the puppeteers are very much part of the stage you soon loose sight of them and concentrate on the oddball puppet characters instead, who take us on a meandering story that is explained by poetry and a beautiful lightbox paint brush animation.

Invisible Thread review
The allegorical story told by Plucked is by turns touching, amusing (puppet shagging is a first for me, as is puppet birth) and thought provoking. Suffice to say that our love affair with television has a lot to answer for! Keep an eye on Invisible Thread to follow their next projects. This show ends on Sunday 22nd January, but there are plenty of other shows to see at the Mime Festival.

Categories ,animation, ,Chalk Farm, ,Faulty Optic, ,Invisible Thread, ,Janneke de Jong, ,Katie Chappell, ,Liz Walker, ,London International Mime Festival, ,Plucked… a true fairy tale, ,Puppetry, ,review, ,Roundhouse

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