Pinocchio

Indefinite Articles bring Pinocchio’s tale to life in a carpenter’s workshop, the familiar story helped along by the shouts of the audience. Pinocchio is discovered inside a piece of wood, and on the way to his first day at school he is distracted first by snow, then a circus, then led astray by a beguiling fox. Through a series of lucky mishaps, Pinocchio is reunited with his father for a happy ending.The endlessly versatile set transforms into snowy slopes, a rocking ship and a theatre for shadow puppetry, while Steve Tiplady’s dexterous hands bring to life gloves as French acrobats, a green peg as the talking cricket, brushes as a tricksy fox. The use of the various tools of a carpenter’s workshop to create the characters is innovative and a joy to watch - it reminds me of the way children play and Tiplady has the same rapt involvement. Pinocchio is a beautifully carved head and his body is the most inventive piece of puppetry I have ever seen. The relationship that grows between him and Liplady is delicately conceived, with all the difficulties of a real son-father relationship. Even as the audience are entering, they are absorbed by what is happening onstage - by beautiful clarinet music as Gepetto tidies his carpenter’s workshop and saws a branch into pieces. Steve Tiplady is warm and slightly gruff as Gepetto and the show starts slowly as he draws the audience in, engaging everyone in conversation, raising that favourite subject of birthdays and presents. Throughout the show, the audience is encouraged to participate, to shout out their suggestions and experiences - issues such as the first day of school and how to make a small boy go to sleep raise a volley of hands. This is miles away from the frenetic Disney version, and it seems almost sacrilegious to bring it up as Tiplady’s show is gentle and beautifully crafted, devoid of any cartoon garishness.