Theatre

Little Light

North Edinburgh Arts Centre

Mary Brennan, three stars

SNOW was swirling outside North Edinburgh Arts Centre when this touring production – a collaborative initiative between theatre-makers in Scotland and Jordan – pitched its exotic tent (luckily!) inside the venue. With coats discarded and shoes kicked off, we – a mixed group of young children and adults – ducked inside the self-contained marquee, and entered a caringly assembled realm of puppetry, shadow-play, music and story-telling where spoken text was supplanted by a flow of visual imagery.

Between them, the Edinburgh-based Vision Mechanics and the Amman-based Haya Cultural Centre, have devised a cross-cultural story of a hard-working single dad, his lonely little boy and an irrepressibly cute dog who unexpectedly arrives in their lives just as a playful bright star takes a trip down to earth.

It’s a modest, fragmentary storyline, lent quiet charm by performers Hanin Awali and Mohammad Awad, two Jordanian actors who – unlike the Vision Mechanics - weren’t previously hands-on with puppetry. They succeed in swiftly establishing the characters, especially the cuddly (toy) dog that romps into the audience with as much gusto as he burrows into the affections of the boy and his father.

Where the narrative falters for the younger ones in the audience – recommended age range 5 to 8 years – is in establishing the provenance of the little star. The roof of the tent transforms into an exquisite star chart, complete with constellations and animated star signs - lovely to look at, but puzzlingly over the heads of wee ones.

Equally gorgeous, and readily understood, were the colourful landscapes projected onto the all-encompassing walls that, along with the beguiling soundscore, left snowy Edinburgh behind and took us on a warm-hearted Eastern adventure.

Now touring: See www.puppetanimationfestival.org