FUSION THEATRE AT ITS BEST

Spinning Mountain
Directed by: Nina Nawalowalo
Composed by: I Wayan Gde Yudane & Gareth Farr
Puppetry directed by: I Kadek Setiawan & Rebekah Wild
Puppetry design by: I Kadek Setiawan
Librettist: Ketut Yuliarsa
Additional libretto: Gareth Farr
CAPITAL E NATIONAL THEATRE FOR CHILDREN

at Town Hall, Wellington
From 21 Mar 2007 to 22 Mar 2007
[1 hr, no interval]

Reviewed by Laurie Atkinson, 23 Mar 2007
originally published in The Dominion Post

It's wonderful for Wellington that Capital E's National Arts Festival is held here - and like my colleague Jennifer Shennan I'm proud to be a Wellingtonian because it is here - but it should really be touring the whole country for all to see and enjoy.

With Spinning Mountain Capital E has pulled out all the stops with a piece of shadow puppet theatre that is a joy to behold. With the skills and artistry of composers I Wayan Gde Yudane and Gareth Farr, of librettist Ketut Yiliasara, of puppet designers I Kadek Setiawan and Rebekah Wild and the overall direction of Nina Nawalowalo the telling of this ancient Balinese story is fusion theatre of a high order.

The story is simple enough with a small boy, who would much rather be watching American Idol, being led on an adventure in the middle of the night by his father who tells him how the world was once a place of harmony and how the demons nearly destroyed it all, but luckily the gods saved the day with the greedy demons being distracted by "the golden arches."

There are in-jokes (eclipse is spelt according to the father with a capital E), there are fierce battles, a cartoon-like chase across the countryside, a fiery volcano, and a giant turtle that carries a mountain on its back, and scenes of an Eden where a Balinese-looking tiger and kiwis and ordinary looking bunnies live with other animals.  The environmental message, the central theme of all children's theatre these days, is strong but not pushed to excess.

And all this is done with just hand-held shadow puppets, the exciting gamelan music, and the overall taste and expertise of the artists involved. Bravo.