Theatre-Rites once again reveals itself as a leading light in children’s theatre with this – quite literally – technically brilliant piece of theatre for everyone aged from five. Performed by luminous puppets with shadowy people, with support from a skilful design team and Molecule Theatre of Science, it’s an exploration of light with the odd flash of sparkling wit.
In the pitch black of the opening sequence, four stars twinkle. Pinprick lights dance against a rising wave of trance-like dub music by sound designers Sally Rodgers and Steve Jones and excited chatter provided by the pleasantly spooked children in the audience. Starlight elongates into rope lights, which loop and morph to describe different shapes against the velvety blackness. It’s punishing for tired eyes, this mesmeric light show; when you blink you can still see the luminous characters against your eyelids.
So the lightplay makes an impression, but as always with artistic director Sue Buckmaster’s handling of the situation, a current of anarchy runs underneath. Sharp children who have been noisily pointing out the human presence behind the moving lights (black-clad hands create breaks in luminescent snakes) are foiled when, with a noisy electric fizz, the lights go up. Shrouded, perplexed puppeteers are revealed. A slightly too long period of adjustment, while the performers bicker among themselves about how much more of a revelation their show can become, is resolved when the dancer MeiMei casts off her puppeteer’s black and show us her moves. Her boldness signals a welcome acceleration in development and more involved audience as an over-enthusiastic spotlight has the stage performers scurrying for cover in the auditorium. With its pulsing sounds and lively illuminations, this is a lovely demonstration of the endless amuseument a modern theatre’s light desk can provide.
