Manual Cinema is a very special kind of company. They are a performance collective specialising in live shadow puppetry. Watching Manual Cinema is an experience and Lula Del Ray is absolutely beautiful.
There is nothing else like this out there
Lula Del Ray is a story of a young girl who is intrigued by the moon and everything to do with it, including a band called The Baden Brothers and their song called Lord, Blow Off The Moon Out. We view the story via a big screen, but also we see the creation of the projection simultaneously. It is a lovely story, created and performed seamlessly by a very talented company.
The group works together incredibly well. The slides on the projectors are carefully prepared and the performers casting the shadows move gently in and out of the light, making sure they create only what they want you to see. Sometimes it can be difficult to know where to look, there is so much happening. The music is performed live alongside the action and the sound effects operated onstage too. It’s an interesting concept and one that is fascinating to watch. The story is well created but also the movements between slide changes and scene changes have been choreographed within an inch to avoid any error.
Seeing Manual Cinema for the first time is always a special moment as the collective are so unique. Their stories are simple, as is the projection, but that means what is created in front of your eyes is almost perfection. Nothing compares to the way the ensemble and musicians work together in perfect harmony to tell us a story.
Ada/Ava last year had more impact but that does not stop Lula Del Ray from being a beautiful show. And the way they do it? As far as I am aware, there is nothing else like this out there.
