Physical theatre is not this reviewer's forte. She’s a word
girl. But every now and then it’s nice to watch an audience of all ages connect
on a visceral level, laughing at a sweet little story. Such is the case with
Pierrot and the Moon, a tiny jewel-box of a theatrical experience. The story
barely fills out 40 minutes, and can be boiled down to “boy loses necklace, boy
gets back necklace.” It’s a classic Commedia scenario, with hapless innocent
Pierrot being thrown out of his Paris hotel, robbed, chased by a policeman
while suffering several misunderstandings (partially because Pierrot speaks
Italian, not French), encountering a damsel in distress, and being helped by a
friendly and expressive rat puppet. Though all of the physical comedy is crisp
and clearly rehearsed to function like clockwork, the highlight of the show is
the little rat; the winning, detailed puppet is finely crafted so that it
really appears to be able to run around, and it wins over the audience with its
clear desire to make a friend in Pierrot, helping him create chaos from its
main location, the garbage can. I almost wanted an entire show solely about the
rat, which really did seem to be the one in charge, pulling the strings to make
events happen.
Also impressive in the puppet department are a slightly
disturbing, traditional moon mask, and the shadow puppet scenes over a beautiful
sketched backdrop of Paris. The shadow puppets float and run across the scene,
and, in an inventive addition, manage to gain whatever accessories or positions
the main players have when they, in chase scenes, run behind the screen to be
replaced by puppet versions of themselves, and then back out again.
The play almost entirely relies on the charmingly naïve excitement and
physicality of Pierrot, contrasted with the comedy of the authoritarian but
bumbling policeman. This makes for classic but not played-out conflict; there’s
a reason it’s a traditional trope, because it’s funny. The wailing, jilted bride is given less
to do, but does it well. (Forgive the lack of actor names; I did not get a
program and cannot find a specific credit list online, and don’t want to put
the wrong names to the characters.) Everything is played, as fits Commedia,
very broadly, and language is practically unnecessary, all being spoken in very
simple French or Italian. The
children in the audience seemed to really enjoy it, talking back to the
characters. There’s nothing particularly analytical to say about the show; it’s
just a sweet little uncomplicated play with a nice soul.
-Ilana
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