The Night of the Big Wind @ Underbelly

The Night of the Big Wind is an unusual departure from the frenetic bustle of the Fringe. Tired wooden furniture, a miniature fishing house, sandbags, a droopy washing line and lengths of rope are scattered about the stage. Soft traditional Irish music ushers us in to the tale of a violent storm that hit a small fishing village.

The most striking thing about the show is the ornate puppetry. A young boy is controlled by our actors as he wanders morosely about his surroundings, hopping off tables and emulating other fishing locals as they laze about. Faceless and beautifully-carved, the wooden child conveys a surprising intensity of emotion and loneliness. A flute, an accordion and a guitar play Irish music and the actors sing along in folk-tale fashion. While Little Cauliflower play characters themselves, they alternate effortlessly with their miniature props. Isolation is perfectly captured though a tiny puppet, no taller than fifteen centimetres, who is surprisingly life-like as he meanders across the land.

When the inevitable storm hits, the easy pace is obliterated.  Panic and devastation reign and turn the set upside down, literally snapping furniture; the music becomes intense and the thunder and rain envelop us. Sound effects are largely created manually on-stage, both musically and mechanically with odd contraptions.

Night of the Big Wind doesn't concern itself too much with a story, arguably robbing itselfof an opportunity. Hence it asks spectators to explore the sense of living in this place and time. At any given moment, there’s inexperience, hope, devastation, ambition and humour to the performance which asks only to be lived and experienced, rather than thought about.