old trout puppet workshop

Last night I went to see Old Trout Puppet Workshop's performance of. What an amazing show! There is nothing I can compare their representation to.
The set itself was amazing, how I wish I could show you pictures. Imagine:
A row of beams = "house"
The exact same beams = rib cage (add some lighting and have the ribs move in and out and you have a whale breathing)

Then came the puppets.
The puppets were of 5 main types:
1) “Normal” hand puppets
2) Marionette-type puppets (String controlled)
3) Head-puppets the actor wore them over there head and put their hands through the puppet sleeves to move its hands
4) Large scale push puppets (like those dog/duck toys for kids learning how to walk)
5) One electronic puppet (a log that moved its arms)


Little ol' wooden Pinocchio spoke only gibberish (WOOHOOO) and called his father Papa, because that is what Gipetto wanted him to call him (he didn’t do anything else his father wanted him to do). At one point he was talking to the old green-fisherman who too was speaking only in gibberish, and then Pinocchio, who has been speaking Gib. all through the play says, "WHAT?!!" Oy. It was great.
The scene with Gipetto in a boat was probably one of my favourite seens, as Gipetto came closer to the audience he grew-- three different sizes of Gipetto (Actually Gipetto was played by an actor, so 2 puppets +one actor= three different sizes).

In short Trout’s blending of adult and children's theatre, to create their story of Pinocchio was truly extraordinary.