When it's good puppetry can achieve spectacular theatrical results and transport its audience into phantasmagorical landscapes like few other art forms.
Green Ginger's latest production, Outpost, is very very good.
The three cast members operated the puppets and spoke the words with no attempt at concealment yet they were soon forgotten, so seductive were the characters they manipulated.
The two main protagonists Luis and BK are border patrols between their two countries at Outpost 7.
Their confrontation leads them on an odyssey into a subterranean world and an enlightening journey of politics, power, and a Presidential handbag.
Politics aside, this is above all a very funny comedy.
Green Ginger dot every sentence with a big laugh rather than a sentimental pause.
However, the puppets have one facial expression that somehow magically expresses every emotion, despite the grotesque size of their noses.
The transformation from the surface to the subterranean world and its creatures, was breathtaking.
The original soundtrack, the sound effects, the staging, all combined to create 65 minutes of utterly absorbing theatre which the small crowd clearly adored.
With the Labour party conference in town the lady Presidential puppet had some striking similarities to a former British Prime Minister.
Five stars
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article