The Boy With The Cuckoo Clock Heart @ Pleasance

Review by Bernard O'Leary | 01 Sep 2012

A once-popular, now defunct freakshow stands in ruins but the proprietor assures us that he has one curiosity remaining for us. A story; the story of a boy born with a broken heart on the coldest night on earth. The Magpie Puppet Company have had a really good stab at bringing Mathias Malzieu's messy, Burtonesque fantasy to life in the cramped confines of the Pleasance Attic, using songs, shadows and some remarkable puppeteering.

Jack, the boy of the title, is portrayed by a puppet with three operators, moving between the human actors in an impressive display of physicality. His movement and expression completely upstage his counterparts, illuminating his blossming love for the beautifully Miss Acacia (herself played by an actor but using some of the inflections of a puppet) and climaxing in a wonderfully-choreographed fight scene.

The final third of the original novel is left out of this production, presumably to fit the story into a single hour, and this version does have a slightly abrupt ending. However, both the book and this production are less about structure or careful plotting, rather mad splashes of emotion in primary colours. Magpie have created something here which, despite the odd creak, is captivating and moving. [Bernard O'Leary]

Run ended http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/theatre/boy-with-the-cuckoo-clock-heart