Theatre review: East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Published on Tuesday 16 March 2010 18:06

EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON ** THE ROXY ART HOUSE, EDINBURGH

FIRST, let's be clear that there are plenty of good things about this attractive children's show, pulled together by the Edinburgh-based shoestring group Liminal Theatre, and playing at the Roxy Art House last weekend and this. It has an enthusiastic audience of tiny tots and parents. It has a pleasingly literate script, by writer/director Joel Mason. It tells a strong, magical story about our heroine Bridgette, her early mistakes, and her coming-of-age journey towards redemption. And it has some lovely puppets, representing Bridgette and her old father, the frog who becomes her prince, and various weird creatures she meets on her journey.

So what's wrong with the show? Simply that there's a disjunction, somewhere at the heart of it, between telling and showing. There's plenty of narrative in the play, moving from actor to actor; there's also a fair bit of puppet action, and some strong if unoriginal visual effects. Somehow, though, these strands often seem to conflict and compete, rather than working together; leaving us with a text far too wordy for nursery-age kids, some awkward moments in performance, and a show too dependent for its meaning on what we hear, rather than what we see.

In the end, Mason needs to decide whether he's really a dramatist, interested in telling his story through action and dialogue, or a storyteller, keen to work mainly through poetic narrative. And until he makes up his mind, this show will inevitably amount to a less than the sum of its parts.