The traditional tale of the genie in the lamp is bought charmingly to life in this shadow puppet show.
With the Norwich Puppet Theatre bedecked with colourful drapes and the stage scattered with cushions for those wanting a more intimate performance, we hear the Iraqi version of the classic story unfold.
Using sheets, paper, oil, and lamps, puppeteers Sally Todd and Steve Tiplady tell the tale. Tiplady’s narration is gently dramatic, warmly engaging the young audience – including when they go slightly off-script in some of their suggestions. We are assured it is a bottle of oil, not whiskey, that will aid in the performance, despite some of the young hecklers’ insistence.
Tiplady himself becomes part of the projections, with his body casting shadows alongside the paper shapes of a boy, a princess, and three scheming magicians.
A couple of timing and music cues went astray, but the hitches became part of the show, enhancing the organic feel of the performance: this was an old story, but a one-off recounting of it.
It’s the beauty of storytelling and theatre: to take simple things and conjure whole worlds. Not a bad wish to be fulfilled on a Sunday morning.
- The Magic Lamp by Indefinite Article was at Norwich Puppet Theatre on Sunday 17 May 2026 as part of Norfolk and Norwich Festival.
