When depending on technology to create something new and original in theatre there is always a chance that one night it will go wrong.
Unfortunately for Tortoise In A Nutshell that night was their debut Hove appearance, as their innovative show was taken over by the infamous blue screen of death leading to the final third being abandoned.
The disappointment was obvious among the packed audience for what had been an enthralling and fascinating story.
It was told largely without words, using miniature model puppets whose moves within their cardboard town were captured using live video cameras and projected onto a screen above the actors’ heads.
The story followed siblings Joe and Dawn, whose idyllic seaside town was torn apart when a corrupt councillor opened a new Supercade attraction. The giant building led to the closure of the town’s businesses and an influx of drunken vandals destroying their previously happy existence.
Feral was packed with blink-and-you-miss-it detail, black humour and inventiveness in its use of cutaway close-ups, ingenious sound and lighting effects.
It was performed with an energy which came to the fore as the actors decided to recreate the end of the story narrated without cameras to ensure no-one in the audience missed out.
Here’s hoping they return soon with the full show.
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