A double-bass player, a quiet bar, and it’s half-two in the morning: Kate Gilbert, the tin girl, enchants the darkness with her silver-paper-voice and evokes frail pictures from her soul as she sits on the shelf in the tin man’s shop, accompanies the frog prince to his tower, and meets a figment of her own imagination in the dreamlike forest. The tingly, prickly story suits the toe-tickling atmosphere, created my Michael Cretu on bass. The intimate, cabaret-like setting, however, makes the production somewhat lack a certain warmth, of the bond between actress and musician. Spoken word, song, melodies and poetry create an airy and romantic ambience with odd bits of modern culture, but the elements seem partly unconnected.

Zoo Southside, 5 – 15 Aug, 4.00pm (4.55pm), £8.00 – £6.00, fpp304.
tw rating 3/5
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