Little Angel Theatre concludes its Children’s Puppet Festival with The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; a production created through its heritage marionette project. The project aims to remove marionette puppetry, an endangered craft, from the red list by training a new generation of practitioners. The six experienced puppeteers performing here are newly trained through the theatre’s workshop scheme, having learned this complex art form in just a few weeks.

Inspired by Goethe’s short poem, the story follows a young apprentice left alone by his sorcerer master. Attempting to replicate his magic, he enchants a broom to fetch water, only for his experiment to spiral out of control.

Here, the story is reframed around six puppeteers who emerge shining torches and enter a closed-down theatre to uncover its hidden magic. They dismantle a blocked entrance, revealing a curtain and, beyond it, a mysterious puppet theatre. There were also some startlingly loud noises (whether intentional or not), which caused at least the child to cry; a warning to families would be advisable.

The production becomes a playful exploration of puppetry itself, though the narrative remains opaque. We never properly meet the Sorcerer, nor fully understand the Apprentice’s responsibility. The final view of human hands from above suggests a broader narrative about puppeteers finding an empty theatre, although this concept is not fully developed.

Visually, however, the production is enchanting. The blue-haired apprentice, hand-carved from wood by trainee Jess Shead using traditional techniques, has an ethereal, almost iridescent quality. The apprentice defies gravity, floating through water and navigating flying books and animated brooms. An Anglepoise-style lamp bounces cheerfully across the stage, while the stickman, whose body magically splits and reforms, is particularly captivating for the young audience.

Oliver Hymans’ clean, inventive design uses shifting depths, enhanced by Sherry Coenen’s colourful lighting. With no spoken dialogue, Ian Oakley’s evocative jazz- and electronic-inspired score provides much of the atmosphere.

The show feels close to a work in progress, it is not perfect, but it is an impressive achievement. Funny, musically delightful and often genuinely beautiful, it celebrates the curiosity, risk and skill involved in keeping marionette puppets alive.

Reviewed by Nina Gardner

Four Stars.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is aimed at ages 6-11 years and plays at Little Angel Theatre until Sunday 30 August.

 

 

Puppeteers

Sam Baumal,

Aimee Louise Bevan,

Jasmine Chiu Samuel Dutton,

Josh Macrow,

Aya Nakamura

Creatives

Director and Designer: Oliver Hymans

Festival Programme Manager: R.M. Sánchez-Camus

Marionette Maker: Ash Appadu

Marionette Maker Trainee: Jess Shead

Marionette Maker Trainee: Mallika Joy

Marionette Tutors: Sue Dacre, Bori Mezo

Composer and Sound Designer: Ian Oakley

Lighting Designer: Sherry Coenen

Dramaturg/Writer: Laura Bradford

Scenic Artist and Production Assistant: Valerya Veronkina

supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund

Ellie Kurttz – Photography