Nothing to say about something

Silent physical comedy and puppets are two things I would not describe as great loves of mine. Yet they happen to be fairly dominant features in this original production, The Alchemystorium, at the Lowry transferring a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe. But I went in with an open mind and left pleasantly surprised but by no means a convert.

The absence of any dialogue demands that the three actors are forced to be highly expressive in conveying a simple story to the audience. This is at times impressive but unfortunately mostly irritating and put me more in mind of a mid-morning kids’ television show than adult contemporary theatre. But although the baby-squeaky talk is annoying, there is no denying that the three leads all have talent. They are all energetic and expressive throughout the one hour running time and maintain the high level of exuberance needed to keep an audience engaged in a wordless story.

The story itself follows three friends (Katie Cooper, Lizzie Franks and Sam Worboys)  working at the Alchemystorium Cafe who all are experiencing love in its various guises- two of them falling for each other  whilst the other is left pining for her unseen lover.

As ever tragedy and comedy go hand in hand: much of the comedy stems from the characters’ interactions with their imaginary customers at the cafe. The sadness felt by the lovesick member of the trio was surprisingly well conveyed with a puppet (which turned out to only be slightly creepy) and a good selection of romantic ballads.

Particularly impressive was the café-bar which was wonderfully utilised throughout the play for various purposes and became as integral to the story as any of the characters did.

However the ultimate failing of the play was that although the silent comedy aspect was original and occasionally funny, the ultimate story was a fairly basic one and wasn’t terribly original itself. At times I felt the play would be more appropriate for a younger audience as there was a certain ‘children’s entertainer’ quality about the actors’ performances. But the strange love scene performed out of sight put me in mind of what it might sound like listening to Pingu having sex- perhaps less appropriate for the younger audience. So whilst the play was novel in its production and execution, it was neither entertaining nor thoughtful enough to make for a unique theatre experience.