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SEE Magazine: Issue #463
ON STAGE
REVIEW
by SEE Staff
October 10, 2002
Believe it — Tooth Fairy leaves treasure
THE TOOTH FAIRY
Old Trout Puppet Workshop
Presented by Fringe Theatre Adventures
Kaasa Theatre (Jubilee Auditorium)
Until Oct. 13, Fri. & Sat., 7 p.m.; Sat. & Sun., 2 p.m.
Tickets: $16.05, $12.84 Student/Senior, $10.70 Children
***** (out of five)
The toughest part about reviewing kids’ plays is always getting someone to come along. The mere mention of a trip into fairyland with a bunch of makes most people cringe and make excuses. I usually end up taking a seat at the back, trying to look as uncreepy as possible as the only single person in a room full of moms and tots.
In this case, I can honestly say that all those who declined invitations missed out on an amazing theatre experience. Fringe Theatre for Young People’s first production of the season is probably one of the best, most surreal works of imagination I’ve seen in ages. Many think children’s theatre moralistic goofiness punctuated by uninspired musical numbers and cloying dialogue. Not here. Written and performed by Calgary’s Old Trout Puppet Workshop, this play is more reminiscent of the twisted works of Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton than anything Disney could cook up in a million boardrooms. It’s a fairy tale, sure, but one in the bizarre tradition of the Brothers Grimm and the opium dreams of Lewis Carroll. Rather than pandering, it takes advantage of the young audience’s unhindered willingness to suspend their disbelief. Not appropriate for children, you’re thinking? Well what is these days, if not a play that brings to life the fantastic journeys most kids make in their heads anyway?
Young Abigail's love of her own baby teeth sends her on a journey across the ocean to save the world from the evil work of the Tooth Fairy. Her adventures bring her into the company of pirates, a toothless castaway and even death itself, portrayed as a tree with apples in its branches ripe for allegorical plucking.
One piece fills the stage – a wooden structure that initially looks like nothing more than an artifact from an old-fashioned playground. But with the help of some incredibly clever moving parts and the eager imagination of the audience, it changes seamlessly from forest to pirate ship to sea monster. The characters are brought to life with similar ingenuity. Some are complex puppets with stunning, eerie detail; others little more than dolls twitched back and forth to comic or musical cues, but all manage to take on personalities that overshadow the gray-clad figures that pull their strings.
None of the poetic dialogue or philosophical pondering seems to fly over the heads of the children in the audience. Those who were too young to follow the mythical allusions simply enjoyed the whimsical visuals and infectious music. Children laughed along with parents and, at the right moments, even managed complete silence – a feat which, if nothing else, illustrates how completely involved they were in the movement of the plot.
If you miss the play, the story will be available in November as a book written and illustrated by Old Trout Judd Palmer. You may have to make room beside Where the Wild Things Are on your shelf of old favorites.
ERIKA THORKELSON
Original Article
FAST-FORWARD CALGARY
by Jeff Goffin
June 28, 2001
REVIEW
THE TOOTH FAIRY
The Old Trout Puppet Workshop
What does he do with those teeth?
Everyone knows all about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, but what do any of us really know about that mysterious night-dweller with the odd dental fixation? Thanks to The Old Trout Puppet Workshop, the veil of mystery has been lifted on that shadowy figure of childhood, the Tooth Fairy. In their latest production, the Old Trouts reveal the truth in a magical performance filled with marvelous puppets of all sizes and descriptions.
Directed by David Lane and Coral Larson Thew, The Tooth Fairy is a simple fairy tale revolving around Abigail, the Girl with the Greatest Teeth in the World. Played by Shannon Anderson, Abigail is an innocent who can turn the world on with her smile. She undertakes a Homeric quest to confront the Tooth Fairy in his castle. Along the way she loses some of that innocence as she faces down pirates, assorted monsters and a castaway madman.
The imaginative methods the company uses to bring each of the many characters to life raises The Tooth Fairy well beyond saccharine kid stuff. There are hand puppets, full body puppets and at least one monster puppet that fills the entire stage. All of the puppets are designed and created by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop, so in many cases the performer is working with a puppet of his/her own creation. This familiarity makes for smooth and sometimes even dazzling performance. There is a wonderful, engaging sense of play to the entire show.
It is as if we have stumbled on a group of talented overgrown children. We can see the puppeteers. We can see the rods and wires. Yet none of that matters as the wood and plaster become "real" characters in our imagination. Added to all of this technical wizardry is a musical score by David Rhymer, performed by the entire cast with just the right mix of sentiment and buffoonery.
The Tooth Fairy is a clever and funny show that breaks new ground on familiar territory. And it is vaguely reassuring, after so many years of wondering, to find out just what the Tooth Fairy wants with all of those baby teeth.
Original Article
