This year’s Fringe has witnessed the rise of a new genre of children’s theatre: butterplot. Butterplot is the name given to a show that looks and sounds amazing ‘butterplot’ lets the whole thing down. Take Tim & Light for example. A charming set sees steam trains, spooky houses and topiary hedges emerge from little more than a chest of drawers and an old sheet. Light is used sparingly but to dazzling effect and Tim is deftly controlled by the puppet-master pulling his strings. Meanwhile, the rest of the cast bustle round him, using hairspray to mimic steam and transforming a suitcase into a dog.Visually, the spectacle is a pleasure to behold, butterplot is sadly lacking. Tousle-haired Tim lives in Brighton with his mum. One day, he discovers a stray cat named Light and takes it home. For a while, everything’s fine, and the puppet pair become best buds. Then, out of nowhere, our lean hero throws a strop. He doesn’t like being thirteen and he doesn’t want to hang out with his stupid cat anymore; he just wants to chill with the cool kids and wear his fringe over his eyes. Basically, Tim becomes an emo. Instead of putting on some My Chemical Romance and scrutinising his wrists however, he inextricably embarks upon a train journey to Preston Park. The cat, incidentally, plays no further part in the story, but insists on dutifully following Tim around stage for the next 40 minutes. Somehow, Tim & Light achieves the impossible in making a children’s play seem utterly implausible. In spite of the outstanding production, the kids - and parents - have lost interest long before the end. There’s only so much pretty lights and cute puppets your average five year-old can take before feeling compelled to stand up and scream ‘Yes, but what’s with the pavlovian denouement?!’ No more butterplot please - I just can’t take it.
