Two mysterious and surreal stories are captivatingly told in this double-header performance by The Paper Cinema at Norwich Puppet Theatre.
The shows use live animation – dozens of hand-drawn pen and ink drawings of characters and backgrounds, dancing before a camera that projects them onto a large screen – and live music accompaniment, a sort of electronic dreamscape version of a silent movie score.
The effect is transcending, as two puppeteers manoeuvre the cutouts, switching between different sizes and perspectives as the action cuts between different viewpoints.
Rock Charmer is inspired by the legends and stories of Dorset’s Jurassic Coast and the dramatic cliffs of Purbeck. A rugged explorer contends with mechanical claws, sprawling Escher-like buildings, giants carved out of rock, and sea monsters as he roams across land, sea, and air. The animation is engaging, the music foreboding and at times claustrophobic, until the monotone drawings give way to flashes of colour.
In the surreal The Night Flyer, our hero is separated from his beau – who is seemingly captured by a top-hatted villain and imprisoned in a birdcage on a train. He gives chase on his bike as the steam train flies through mysterious landscapes resembling melted chess boards. Somehow – perhaps with the help of a mysterious bearded old man – he catches up, freeing his love and escaping in to the night air together.
The performances are impressive feats both artistically and logistically, and feel both historic – with the mostly monochrome visuals and lack of dialogue harking back to silent cinema – and modern – thanks to the video projection and electronic soundtrack.
A strange and special treat.
- The Norfolk and Norwich Festival continues until 25 May 2025.
