Red Rust

        I recently attended a performance by Odd Doll Puppetry Theatre. The show, Red Rust, featured a variety of different puppetry techniques from a highly articulated rod marionette, to an army or Punch-esque glove puppets, and a herd of cuddly, pillow like hand puppet cows. The company consisted of three performer puppeteers and a harpist who provided live musical accompaniment.

        The narrative itself demonstrates puppetry's aptitude for dealing with what may be termed difficult subject matter. While Odd Doll's previous show, The Worried Walrus, was family entertainment, Red Rust is more suitable for adults, and contains some very dark and sinister themes. Although never made explicit, the story is that of a woman beginning life in perhaps a care home or an institution. She is alternately tormented and comforted by her memories, while the shadow of death (an oddly sinister balloon) looms ever closer. There is little dialogue, and none from the central character herself. Instead, the audience is allowed to interpret the finer details of the story themselves, enabling them to project some of their own personal experiences and feelings onto these puppets, making the show an emotional experience.

        It is through the series of memories that the different puppetry techniques come into play. The first to be introduced are the aforementioned cows, illuminated by warm yellow lighting which evokes a pastoral and idyllic image of the farm that we come to understand is the character's past, and the location of her happier memories. This is in stark contrast to the 'present', her life in the home/hospital, where the identikit glove puppets represent a swarm of nurses and carers who twitter about ineffectually, locking their patient's memories away behind trapdoors.

        As is to be expected from glove puppets, their animation is somewhat haphazard and skittish, but this fits with their careless and brash personality (indeed they seem to be one and the same). The animation of the marionette, on the other hand, is subtle and hypnotic. At first, the prospect of having two and even three people operate a puppet no more than two feet tall left me somewhat dubious: would they not be a distraction? Wouldn't they obstruct the view of the puppet? However, once the puppet began to move, the puppeteers quickly faded into the background, and it was not difficult to focus attention on each expressive movement of the marionette. For the most part, she was confined within a small perimeter, but would occasionally struggle to break free, and it was here that the animation was especially good. In the small, intimate theatre it was almost possible to sense the audience hold their breath as the puppet's legs trembled under her attempts to stand and walk, everyone focused on the tiniest of movements. Similarly as she attempted to hold back the oppressive balloon, the marionette was imbued with a sense of weight and strength, as though she really was struggling under great pressure.

        It was not just traditional puppets that Odd Doll relied upon. There was a strong use of lighting to emphasise the mood and storytelling, through changing colours and the raising or lowering of a spotlight creating a soft or harsher atmosphere. The company also made use of a miniature house, which was opened up and then filmed, with the images projected on a screen. The projected images sometimes acted as a gateway into another memory. One such scene which stood out was ostensibly simple: a couple preparing tea together. However, through considerate lighting and sensitive acting this sequence became beautiful and romantic. Although the two performers involved were entirely on show, focus was drawn to just their hands, which effectively became the puppets. The way they interacted, caressed and elegantly handled the the tea service (the tea, milk and sugar were all replaced by a stream of cerise glitter, matching the romantic lighting) was akin to watching a dance. At another point three identical Corn Flakes boxes became three very distinct characters, who, like a humanette, had the puppeteers' hands as their own. 

        It is a credit to the ability of Odd Doll's performers that whether they are acting through a puppet, a cardboard box or as themselves they are equally engaging and arresting, able to hold the audience's attention and make them invest in the stories of inanimate objects. There were aspects which left me a little confused: for example, there were numerous incarnations of the central rod marionette, some whole, some with broken faces, and some with a hole ripped through the abdomen. While it is reasonable to assume that the latter may represent an abortion or miscarriage, I was unable to understand the meaning of the shattered face. Yet for the most part, Red Rust was a powerful, affecting, thought provoking and beautifully performed piece of puppet theatre which has shown me how diverse contemporary puppetry can be.