It's the mark of truly professional performers that even when the room they're performing in is so warm one of them sweats right through their costume and out of their makeup... or the lights go out three quarters of the way through the performance (possibly due to the torrential rain that preceded the show) before coming back on a few minutes later... that they don't bat an eyelid... they don't let any of that stop them, and present an amazing show.The cast of Les Enfants Terribles (aka The Terrible Infants) are exactly that kind of performer.
And it's a beautiful show... full of whimsy, music, puppets, beautiful stories and great performances. And some beautiful narration to one of the tales by Dame Judy Dench.
The stories themselves, by Oliver Lansley and Sam Wyer, are very clever... there's one that runs the whole length of the show but all the others are self contained little tales. And they're all little morality tales... don't be greedy, be happy with who you are, don't tell lies, stop talking all the time and listen. But they're never heavy-handed... occasionally twisted, a little dark at times, but never heavy handed.
There's a touch of Tim Burton, a pinch of Roald Dahl, a scattering of Lemony Snicketts and a twist of Doctor Suess.
As I said at the start of this post, the performers are all excellent, all unique and all have their own moments to shine. I don't think I could even pick a favourite out of them all... which is unusual for me.
And if I choose to sit in the front row I really can't complain about how loud things were... can I? Occasionally the sound became a little distorted, or the music slightly drowned out the dialogue... but I don't know if that was just a "front row" problem.
All in all, a thoroughly entertaining evening!
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