Roll up, roll up! Polichinelle’s in town!

Held at the Gluttony Puppet Palace, The Buffoon’s Play follows the comical adventures of Polichinelle, the celebrated clown from France and Italy. Presented by French master puppeteer, Philippe Saumont, The Buffoon’s Play has toured worldwide, but is visiting Adelaide for the very first time.

Originating in Naples, Italy, ‘Pulcinella’ is one of the mischievous clown figures from the Commedia dell’Arte. The character has been a crowd favourite for hundreds of years, and has since been adapted to various forms of theatre such as puppetry. Pulcinella is the forefather of the English ‘Punch’, the Dutch ‘Jan Klaassen’, the French ‘Polichinelle’ and many other similar figures in European puppet theatre.

On entering the characteristic red-and-white striped tent of the Gluttony Puppet Palace, you are welcomed in by the unmistakable mandolin-twanging theme of The Godfather, in line with the puppet’s Neapolitan origins.

Being a quiet Thursday night, the small audience is ushered towards the front few rows. Saumont, the puppeteer, asks the audience ‘Are you ready?’ before disappearing behind the curtain, and introducing us to the cheeky Polichinelle.

Polichinelle is both impish and charming, with a voice amusingly reminiscent of animated television character Pingu – owing to Saumont’s obscure voice-distorting mouthpiece. According to Saumont, Polichinelle’s characteristic voice is suggestive of its Italian name, ‘Pulcinella’, meaning ‘little chicken’.

The show itself is a delightful combination of mockery, fight scenes and dancing – often all at once. The roguish Polichinelle shows off his tricks, assaulting (or killing) each of the characters he comes across, all in the name of slapstick comedy. These include the Monster, – an incomprehensible animal, somewhere between a lion and the squirrel from Ice Age – the stern Policeman, and Death himself – not to mention an inanimate rubber chicken.

Having studied the art of the guarattelle (traditional Neapolitan puppetry) under Italian puppet masters Bruno Leone and Salvatore Gatto, Saumont has been presenting the character of Polichinelle to a worldwide audience for many years.

Each puppet is beautifully crafted, and Saumont is brilliant in his manipulation of them – their movements are both smooth and convincing. The lively and comical trumpeting music only adds to the delight, particularly during fight scenes. There is little comprehensible dialogue in the performance, but it doesn’t matter – the action, sounds and incessant energy keeps the audience engaged at all times.

Despite his limited English, Saumont is extremely interactive with his audience. He is principally based behind the curtain, but makes sporadic appearances to converse with Polichinelle and encourage audience participation. With a small audience, this took some effort, but a larger crowd would no doubt be far more responsive.

At the end of the show, Saumont met with the audience, endeavouring to give a brief history of his craft and experiences. An interpreter would have been beneficial here, as it was clear that Saumont had much to say but found it difficult to converse with his English-speaking audience.

Presented by a talented puppeteer, this playful production is a celebration of Europe’s superb hand-puppet tradition. For a more energised experience I would recommend seeing this show on a Friday or Saturday evening. Nevertheless, The Buffoon’s Play provides a delightful night of light entertainment – a unique cultural treat for the whole family to enjoy.