Archive for July 22, 2009
Op-Shop Art and Puppetry
We (the whole human Elvish family plus the Dyke Mike) went to see a marionette show tonight at the Judith Wright Centre for Contemporary Arts. It’s called The Grimstones (watch a trailer here) and was presented in English and Auslan. Yankee Elv is Deaf, so this was particularly cool as she could understand everything that was going on- mostly at least, as Auslan is different to ASL after all – which is not often the case with live theatre. I was extremely impressed, it was so well done. I really liked the way the humans (puppeteers) and marionettes interacted with each other, but not in a creepy ventriloquist way. The movements of the marionettes were life-like, and the sets were incredibly intricate. It made me imagine what watching silent films must have been like, but with voiced/signed narration between scenes, rather than text appearing on screen.
Marionettes from The Grimstones
Another thing that really impressed me was that most of the sets were made using reused materials. For example, an old candlestick was revamped (cushion added, painted etc) to make one character’s sewing stool. A bottle in the apothecary was made from an old bottle top. I liked the sustainable nature of it all.
It wasn’t commercial, the way so many types of mass-produced forms of entertainment (like movies) are, which also appealed to me. Afterwards there were drinks (including a really nice Cabernet Merlot from Kissing Bridge) and fancy nibblies, such as cute, tasty cupcakes. We wandered around backstage, looking at posters outlining the production of the sets and marionettes, and at the book the artist published. We also had time to chat with the artist, Asphyxia and co-star/partner, Paula (they met as circus performers in Melbourne years ago), while Dyke Mike was cornered by a lady talking very determinedly about perfume, and Mr Teeny-bop vacillated between the snack table and the posters. We rounded off the evening with a rather expensive tapas dinner (a send off for DM, who is leaving the country on Thursday), some fruity sangria and a silly train ride home.
When I got home, I briefly looked up Asphyxia’s blog, only to find out that she’s a big environmentalist. No wonder the show was sustainably produced! We’re everywhere, I tell you.
All in all, a good night was had by all.
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