The Lost Supper
NNN NOW Magazine Review Creative Puppetry
Lost Supper full of tasty surprises
By JON KAPLIN
Few events bond people as strongly as a communal meal, so it's no surprise that Shadowland Theatre connects so well with its audience in the puppetry-inspired The Lost Supper.
A dinner party for seven life-size, big-head puppets, manipulated and voiced by the five talented creators who act as the meal's waiters, turns into an evening of vibrant storytelling.
The tasty theatrical celebration, directed by Mark Cassidy , begins with the guests arriving during a storm (is the dinner a haven from nasty external forces?) and moves from an etiquette lesson to a tale of gluttony, from a farmer's everyday trials to a French country adventure and a vodka-stoked visit to Russia.
The company, bringing an oxymoronic blend of delicate subtlety and great energy to the show – as well as some entertaining ad libs – endows kitchen implements, wooden blocks and liquor bottles with humour, sensuality and the occasional touch of nostalgia.
They're nicely abetted by Rebecca Picherack 's lighting and David Buchbinder 's sound design.
The cleverness of the design and presentation constantly impresses, right down to a miraculous soup bowl that holds more dreams and memorabilia than a magician's top hat. But it's the final moments that truly amaze, when the stage fills with dancing figures and life bubbles to a boil on the stage.
The warmth and vitality generated by this grassroots company should be the envy of larger troupes.
NNN NOW Magazine Review Creative Puppetry
Lost Supper full of tasty surprises
By JON KAPLIN
Few events bond people as strongly as a communal meal, so it's no surprise that Shadowland Theatre connects so well with its audience in the puppetry-inspired The Lost Supper.
A dinner party for seven life-size, big-head puppets, manipulated and voiced by the five talented creators who act as the meal's waiters, turns into an evening of vibrant storytelling.
The tasty theatrical celebration, directed by Mark Cassidy , begins with the guests arriving during a storm (is the dinner a haven from nasty external forces?) and moves from an etiquette lesson to a tale of gluttony, from a farmer's everyday trials to a French country adventure and a vodka-stoked visit to Russia.
The company, bringing an oxymoronic blend of delicate subtlety and great energy to the show – as well as some entertaining ad libs – endows kitchen implements, wooden blocks and liquor bottles with humour, sensuality and the occasional touch of nostalgia.
They're nicely abetted by Rebecca Picherack 's lighting and David Buchbinder 's sound design.
The cleverness of the design and presentation constantly impresses, right down to a miraculous soup bowl that holds more dreams and memorabilia than a magician's top hat. But it's the final moments that truly amaze, when the stage fills with dancing figures and life bubbles to a boil on the stage.
The warmth and vitality generated by this grassroots company should be the envy of larger troupes.
The Lost Supper
Toronto Star Review
"Shadowland's movable feast is fine theatrical fare."
RICHARD OUZOUNIAN, theatre critic
The Lost Supper By Shadowland Theatre. Directed by Mark Cassidy.
"Unique" is an overused word in the critical lexicon, but it's the one that best applies to The Lost Supper, the latest work from Shadowland Theatre.It's a strange but lovely mixture of puppetry, movement, light and music that tells seven distinctive stories, but barely uses a word.
Shadowland is the Toronto Island-based group that brings its unique creativity to many aspects of our local theatre scene. It has won three Dora Awards for the grotesquely splendid costumes it provided for Video Cabaret, produced some memorable outdoor spectacles like Right of Passage and also created an assortment of memorable smaller pieces, of which The Lost Supper is a fine addition.Seven life-size puppets sit at a communal dinner table and, after a sort introductory talk from one of them (a kind of papier-mâché Margaret Visser), we launch into the individual anecdotes that connect each guest's life with the world of food.
Throughout, the five black-clad manipulators (Anne Barber, Brad Harley, Mark Keetch, Noah Kenneally and Clea Minaker) do a delicate job of not only seeing that the larger puppets move and react appropriately, but that each story is told by a group of smaller puppets with a wealth of careful detail.
The end result is not unlike those Matryoshka dolls, where a full-sized original keeps revealing a series of ever-tinier miniatures, to our constantly growing amazement.
The Russian atmosphere is echoed by the content of the some of the tales as well as the heavenly Klezmer-flavoured score composed, arranged, produced and even partially played by David Buchbinder.
The individual episodes range from an evocation of passion in a Provençal garden to a year in the life of a farmer, each handled with a different style and some amusing theatrical flair.
Is there a final point to it all, other than the celebration of the joys and sorrows that can be found in the community of dining? That's hard to say, but this is a piece that excites us more for its unheard echoes than its clearly defined statements.
Mark Cassidy has directed with an invention that surpasses mere cleverness and a sense of just when we have to be dazzled and when it's time to let us sit and think. There's also a lot of humour in the piece — some subtle, some broad — and it makes for an entertaining hour.
It's also a treat to see how the five cast members constantly reinforce the emotions that their puppets are meant to be feeling, with a wealth of subtle smiles, exchanged glances and murmured confidences.
Rebecca Picherack has done wonders with a simple lighting plot, including a magical evocation of a Balinese shadow play.
And, as mentioned before, Buchbinder's score wraps the whole thing up in a blanket of sound that soothes without ever smothering. It's some of the best theatre music I've heard in a long time.
The Lost Supper once again shows that Shadowland is a group that can be counted on to provide Toronto theatre with work deliciously out of the ordinary. It's not conventional, but nothing this group does ever is. Still, if you want something different, you'll find it here.
Toronto Star Review
"Shadowland's movable feast is fine theatrical fare."
RICHARD OUZOUNIAN, theatre critic
The Lost Supper By Shadowland Theatre. Directed by Mark Cassidy.
"Unique" is an overused word in the critical lexicon, but it's the one that best applies to The Lost Supper, the latest work from Shadowland Theatre.It's a strange but lovely mixture of puppetry, movement, light and music that tells seven distinctive stories, but barely uses a word.
Shadowland is the Toronto Island-based group that brings its unique creativity to many aspects of our local theatre scene. It has won three Dora Awards for the grotesquely splendid costumes it provided for Video Cabaret, produced some memorable outdoor spectacles like Right of Passage and also created an assortment of memorable smaller pieces, of which The Lost Supper is a fine addition.Seven life-size puppets sit at a communal dinner table and, after a sort introductory talk from one of them (a kind of papier-mâché Margaret Visser), we launch into the individual anecdotes that connect each guest's life with the world of food.
Throughout, the five black-clad manipulators (Anne Barber, Brad Harley, Mark Keetch, Noah Kenneally and Clea Minaker) do a delicate job of not only seeing that the larger puppets move and react appropriately, but that each story is told by a group of smaller puppets with a wealth of careful detail.
The end result is not unlike those Matryoshka dolls, where a full-sized original keeps revealing a series of ever-tinier miniatures, to our constantly growing amazement.
The Russian atmosphere is echoed by the content of the some of the tales as well as the heavenly Klezmer-flavoured score composed, arranged, produced and even partially played by David Buchbinder.
The individual episodes range from an evocation of passion in a Provençal garden to a year in the life of a farmer, each handled with a different style and some amusing theatrical flair.
Is there a final point to it all, other than the celebration of the joys and sorrows that can be found in the community of dining? That's hard to say, but this is a piece that excites us more for its unheard echoes than its clearly defined statements.
Mark Cassidy has directed with an invention that surpasses mere cleverness and a sense of just when we have to be dazzled and when it's time to let us sit and think. There's also a lot of humour in the piece — some subtle, some broad — and it makes for an entertaining hour.
It's also a treat to see how the five cast members constantly reinforce the emotions that their puppets are meant to be feeling, with a wealth of subtle smiles, exchanged glances and murmured confidences.
Rebecca Picherack has done wonders with a simple lighting plot, including a magical evocation of a Balinese shadow play.
And, as mentioned before, Buchbinder's score wraps the whole thing up in a blanket of sound that soothes without ever smothering. It's some of the best theatre music I've heard in a long time.
The Lost Supper once again shows that Shadowland is a group that can be counted on to provide Toronto theatre with work deliciously out of the ordinary. It's not conventional, but nothing this group does ever is. Still, if you want something different, you'll find it here.
The Lost Supper
"Deliciously out of the ordinary."
Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star, read review "Tasty theatrical celebration." NNN, John Kaplan, NOW magazine read review "Beautiful and provocative, everything a puppet show should be." Jamie Ashby, audience member "A feast of stories around the communal meal." "Three stars" Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star, read review Six strangers are invited to share a meal. The table is the last haven in broken society. Together they exchange stories and reminiscences of their own food experiences. Eventually over a simple bowl of soup, they see all the riches of the universe and a discover a common bond. Performed at Tarragon Theatre Extra Space. Shadowland’s life size puppets operated by waiter/puppeteers told personal tabletop tales that explored the deeply personal issues around food and communal dining. Directed by Mark Cassidy Music by David Buchbinder Lighting Design by Rebecca Picherack Created and Performed by Anne Barber, Brad Harley, Mark Keetch Noah Kenneally and Clea Minaker |
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