Swamp Juice
Reviewed by Annie Waters
Imagine Jack Nicholson from The Shining writing, directing and starring in a one-man shadow puppet show. For children. If your mind can comprehend the dazzling, fantastic insanity of this hypothetical production, then Swamp Juice is for you.
Canadian puppeteer Jeff Achtem, of Bunk Puppets, is the mad genius behind this all-ages swamp romp. Produced on a shoe-string budget (the projection screen is a patchwork of old fabric and the puppets themselves have been crafted “from bits of rubbish”), this show nevertheless succeeds in captivating the audience from the minute the lights go down.
Achtem’s high-energy performance plunges his spectators into a murky quagmire inhabited by a cast of zany shadow characters, each of which is plucked from a clothesline as required. Even though the focus is on the projection screen, the puppets themselves are obviously lovingly crafted, using colourful materials including balloons and tinsel to create these vibrant characters, both on-screen and off. Being able to see Achtem at work, and even at one stage becoming part of the show, the audience is doubly enthralled by the complexity of the shadows that he conjures. There is no high-tech animation here, just one man who “spends too much time alone in a dark room playing with toys”.
This dog-eat-dog (or, more accurately, snake-eat-snail) world of light and shadow would be nothing without the accompaniment of several talented musicians. The highs and lows of the show are beautifully spelled out by the double bass, guitar and a miscellany of percussion instruments. With a distinctive Bluegrass twang, the original score, by David Henry, Nick Carver and Tristan Kelley, gives every character their own musical motif and leaves the audience with a gentle Southern flavour in their minds.
Although it is a humble production, the feats of light that Achtem performs are impressively charming. The 3D finale is particularly astonishing! No matter what your age, roll up your trousers, wade into the Swamp and prepare to be spellbound.
