As with any festival, it’s difficult to choose what to see. Julian Running’s lovely image and quirky description (‘a nautical, shadow-puppetry, indi-folk-musical’) made it stand out from the bunch. It sounded like something that needed to be seen to be understood.
Just as quirky is the venue, Our Place, a recent addition to the neighbourhood of Brunswick Street Mall. It has a cute picket fence outside, family portraits and cocktails in teapots inside. The audience armed themselves with drinks before heading upstairs to a lounge room styled space.
This is when I was reminded that, while taking theatre out from behind a proscenium arch is a great idea, there are many reasons to have a purpose-built venue. There were clearly too many ticket holders for the intimate space. While it was lovely to sit on the floor at the front of a shadow puppet show, I felt for the people who didn’t get to stretch their legs, or who were relegated to the far back. By the time the show was finished, I was feeling quite uncomfortable. It also meant that the audience was reluctant (or possibly unable) to make use of the ten minute interval to top up their drinks.
The narration and music was a recorded track, which allowed the puppeteers to work unhindered by musicians in their allocated space. However, from the front the sound seemed too loud, and there were some technical glitches at the beginning of the show when the front speakers lost sound leaving the audience adrift — much like the main character.
The story follows Julian, a young boy who finds himself at sea on a jumping castle as a visit to the circus goes awry. Between the enormous creatures under the sea and the pirates that sail it, he undergoes a perilous journey.
The music was enjoyable and the shadow puppets were lovely, though at times it was difficult to tell if the effects produced were purposeful. The venue and presentation combined left me feeling a little like I’d stumbled into one of the home concerts that many of us put on for our families in our childhood.
I wanted to love this performance. It’s clear that a lot of thought and care went into the creation of the music and the puppets. But I was left with a feeling that the story was incomplete and the performance needed some more polish to live up to my expectations.
I do hope this talented team take what they’ve learnt from these performances to create an even better show for the next Anywhere Theatre Festival. They have creative and enjoyable ideas, and with some tweaks this could be a truly wonderful show.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Julian Running
Presented by Jennifer Bismire
Music by Matthew Perkins
Our Place, Fortitude Valley
May 10 and May 17
Anywhere Theatre Festival
May 10 – 19
