My Darling Patricia - The Piper - Photo by Joshua Morris

My Darling Patricia: The Piper

My Darling Patricia - The Piper - Photo by Joshua MorrisThis performance by interdisciplinary Australian company, My Darling Patricia, relies upon the help of a hand-chosen group of audience members to wear headphones and follow instructions and to play parts of the stage action. This is a great concept which allows the children in this version of the classic Pied Piper story to actually be played by children (whilst having a brilliant time).

Mixing digital projection with performance and puppetry, this is a modern retelling which opens on a long voiceover explaining that where once nature stood now stands Hamelin, a city where everything is possible. As we watch, the performers and volunteers work together – getting up to the forestage to enact scene changes, become villagers, and create stage effects.

The mayor of Hamelin is a sophisticated character: the classic modern politician – all sound bites and self obsession – and desperate to hide a rubbish problem that has brought on a plague of rats. These are presented as scurrying creatures of black fluff on the ends of long sticks, operated by two performers and the six willing helpers. When the Piper does appear it’s a bit of a shock, a bear-like creature that doesn’t speak but is a pretty good mover – he’s portrayed as ‘a dancer with a rebel soul’ (a mysterious and wild-styled creature who seems like he would be at home in the children’s stories of Ted Hughes, which the company cite as an inspiration for the piece). The deal is done, promises made and the inevitable ending of the classic story is played out with cunning staging, clever projection and endearing use of adult and child volunteers. The one aspect of this production which seemed slightly out of keeping was the presence of a single larger rat who delivers a couple of monologues. These seemed a little superfluous and slightly dragged me out of the style of the rest of the piece.

Otherwise, however, it’s a wonderful piece of theatre in a larger scale than is usual for puppetry and visual work, whose form works intelligently and immersively with its audience. Mid-scale venues would do well to programme this work for family audiences.