Sticks, Stones and Broken Bones

It hardly appears the most stimulating prospect in this digital age to spend an hour in the company of a bloke, some junk and a white screen, but this odd little show literally spotlights the seriously weird Jeff Achtem who transforms the ancient art of shadow puppetry for a stunned and delighted contemporary crowd.

From the opening moment when he meanders onstage mumbling and fumbling like an amiable Mr Bean, Achtem captures the audience’s hearts and the occasional shoe (which he returns unmolested to the confused spectator after using it as a prop in a hilarious opening scene). He builds his first puppet with sticky tape, a balloon and wig then gets a big wow from the room when the projector beam turns the unpromising collection of junk into a bouncy, wiry old woman on the screen.

Achtem’s genius is imbuing these bizarre images with luminous personalities and creating hilarious scenarios, the funniest involving brain surgery, horse racing, domestic competitive chess and an inter-active kung-fu movie where a zen master shadow puppet takes on a member of the audience. He does all this while speaking only in murmurs, moans and grunts.

It might be the kind of entertainment your great granny enjoyed but Achtem gives his shadow puppets a contemporary and endearing spin creating a funny and magical show that reminds you what your imagination is for.