Dragon Hearts review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

It's clear that Bria McCarthy has had an interest in dragons since before Game of Thrones made them cool again. In Dragon Hearts, McCarthy tells us the stories of various dragons through time using shadow puppetry along with some other creative forms and styles but unfortunately this production falls short of effective storytelling.

There are a few stagecraft issues, one of the more obvious ones being the sightlines. Unless you sit in the front row or the front row of the high chairs, it is difficult to see the text that is displayed on the screen with the obstruction of the heads of people seated in front of you. The music is unaffecting and quite repetitive and it does little to support the emotional depth of the scenes that McCarthy hopes to instil. There is a strong need for a dramaturgical eye to finesse these stories and allow audiences with limited or next to no knowledge of the tales to be swept away on the journey intended for us.

Stark and Dormy - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

It’s time for some fun fun fun at Fox’s Family Fun Park. There are plenty of animals to see and exciting rides to take in this small, charming town, as long as you can ignore the hungry alien that is devouring everything and everyone around it. Presented as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Bunk Puppets’ Stark and Dormy thrusts its audience into a science-fiction/horror storyline told almost entirely through astounding shadow puppetry.

While the puppetry is fascinating in its own right, what makes this show even more interesting is that we are able to witness the behind the scenes antics of puppeteers and actors James Pratt and Christian Bagin. Rather than placing a barrier under the screen, Bunk Puppets have left it unobstructed so that we can see all the puppets and props on the floor ready to be used. It is a rare glimpse in how these puppets are constructed and how they drastically change in appearance once they are held behind the screen. It’s quite incredible knowing what the alien creature is made from to then see its menacing form in action.