list.co.uk/festival The Zoom Club | FESTIVAL FEATURES
THE BACKYARD STORY BY FRANCESCO (6) AND IVOR (7) (PLUS INTERACTIVE PUPPETRY WORKSHOP AT THE ZOOM CLUB)
I felt as though the clothes were a real person. The way the puppeteers made the clothing interact and have personalities helped it seem like they were really alive. During the workshop I learned how you can layer clothes up to seem like a full body, with a jacket for a body and then the legs dangling underneath. The puppeteers were very funny and used their voices too to make the clothes seem alive. It was a good way to warm up and think about what the actors must have to do to get ready for their show too.
My favourite bit in the workshop was when my puppet legs kicked another pair of the legs in the bottom. We were monsters too. The show was really cool too. There was one sad bit and a baby cried really loudly but I didn’t cry because I wasn’t scared. ■ Summerhall, until 27 Aug (not 21), 11.45am, £10.
JIHAN’S SMILE BY LAURIE (13), AARON (12) AND ANNIE (11)
I liked how the story started in a very dark place and gradually got happier. It made me feel happier too. The way dialogue was used to create the heavy sadness and then bits of colour and happiness would arrive being loud and chaotic, I think that was good for capturing younger audience’s attention but it also created a strong contrast and atmosphere.
their thing and dream. It must mean a lot to them to be able to share with other people what their country is like and show a bit about what they’ve been through. It was dei nitely there in the plot, the
theme that there is light in this place. There is not just darkness and you have to always try to i nd the light behind the surface.
It seems the show is aimed at a We wanted to create the feeling of
younger audience but it has a very contemporary message because of the violence we hear about in the West Bank. Meeting the company and seeing their performance was really inspirational as they have probably been through quite a lot in their everyday lives and they just push through it to still do a fairytale or dream in our photos and also the idea that happiness is always within you even when you feel sad. There’s always more than one side to everyone. We used the contrast between monochrome and very bright colours to represent this. ■ Summerhall, run ended.
17–28 Aug 2017 THE LIST FESTIVAL 25