This production is intended as a Hitchcock-esque thriller, but even with strong storytelling techniques, the level of suspense is disappointing. The show bases its narrative on an extract from Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine, but the show could more appropriately be compared to a wallflower.
In an American suburban community of the late 1920’s there is a murderer at large targeting young women; the Lonely One. Strong-willed Lavinia Nebbs thinks it could never happen to her.
Predictability ensues. ‘Every time I take a step, there’s an echo. Someone’s following me’. The piece uses some well-crafted shadow puppets making good use of the white picket fence neighbourhood they create to tell the story, but never achieves harmony between the cardboard characters and human bodies. This could be a detriment of its ambitious creative variety that doesn’t jel entirely well. It does successfully conjure an atmospheric impression of the ravine in the tale, but the overuse of torches in the darkness is tiring. It cannot compete with the high standards of puppetry that have appeared in recent years, and you’d be spending your money much more wisely on other shows in this genre. The show is quaint enough and uses strong storytelling techniques, but it is essentially more marketable as a children’s show to warn against the dangers of talking to strangers.
