http://www.weepingspoon.com/AlvinSputnik/About.html
The Street Theatre Canberra
April 12-16 2011
7.30pm, and 5pm matinee Saturday
Bookings: http://www.thestreet.org.au
The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer is a beautiful work of whimsy and imagination. Tim Watts is the solo creator and performer. He uses animation, puppetry, live and recorded music and live acting to tell a strange but simple tale. In a future where sea level rise has brought the human species close to extinction, Alvin lives with his wife Alvina in a one room hut on the top of what used to a be a sky scraper, now just above the ocean. When Alvina sickens and dies, Alvin goes to find the soul that fled her body, and is sent on a mission under the waves to save the world.
The stick figure animation, simple puppetry and unpretentious story give a delightful innocence and naivety to the show. While a few of the audience erupted into laughter periodically, I was quietly smiling to myself throughout. The light touch gave a sweet sadness to a tale of eco-cide, so the dead stick figures under the ocean evoked our compassion rather than macabre horror. There was no particular comment about climate change, it was just there as the backdrop to a tale of heroism and love.
The writing is not perfect. Too much of the tale noodles along sustained by the puppetry but without advancing the plot. The use of popular song, while amusing, seemed at odds with the other-worldliness of the piece. I was left unsatisfied that there had been no surprise twist, no challenge overcome through unexpected ingenuity, no sly comment on how our times had left the lovable Alvin in this impasse.
Neverthless, it a is a charming, engaging work that will do your soul good to see.
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