| 14 August 2009
Scottish Storytelling Centre
12-31 August (ex.18,25) 15:30
Although adapted from the same book, this version of Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel ‘The Lost World’ differs greatly from Jurassic Park.
This BAC-sponsored artistic venture by the ‘Paper Cinema’ group produces characters, settings and props that are sketched in black and white onto cardboard, in homespun arts and crafts fashion, and wiggled around on sticks in front of a camera which transmits these images to screen.
The performance reminds me of the sketches hovering in the margins of old children’s books; illustrations are charmingly hand-crafted and float through undefined space, creating an almost dream-like effect, yet also allow the ‘paperteers’ to convey an astonishing variety of movement and perspective.
This approach is a refreshing counterpoint to many other treatments of fiction for children, avoiding a sensual assault of colour, noise and shouting. The performance has an art-house aesthetic, and with its live, atmospheric musical accompaniment and dramatic 19th Century storyline, I am not surprised to hear that it was originally designed with 12 to 18 year olds in mind.
I suspected that the lack of colour, words and scene-change technology might mean the action was difficult to follow, or not enjoyable, for the youngsters present (most around 6-10 years old). However, they seemed fascinated, using that visual intelligence which at a young age is so much more sophisticated than one assumes.
Thankfully, the accompanying musician and ‘paperteers’ perform in the foreground, beside the screen, which emphasises the transformative and unique nature of the piece. As the enterprise evidently thrives on homemade charm, it seems churlish to point out the early wobbly handling of figures, particularly when one can only compare against puppetry or film shot in multiple stationary frames per second.
Children will benefit from the sparse and uncluttered style of this artistic performance, encouraging them to focus on the exciting, wide-ranging narrative and to interpret what is occurring on screen. However the real appeal of this show is as a charming modern-art concept for adults.
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