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ED2013 3/5 Reviews ED2013 Theatre Reviews
Melodic Dystrophy (directed by Choy Wai Wan and Hannah Maxwell)
By Andrew Bell | Published on Monday 26 August 2013
A short piece examining the way in which death can force us to face life, ‘Melodic Dystrophy’ is played out using puppets and the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe. Maybe not natural bedfellows, but this odd combination mostly works. The student cast imbue their papier mâché avatars with surprisingly convincing life and the sock puppet swarm of journalists are a nice touch – facile flies buzzing around our protagonist’s head. However, the script doesn’t have any real drive or conflict and the cleverest touch of puppetry – the gradual disablement of the lead – feels like an afterthought, rather than the insight it should have been. Cleverly manipulated and well acted though the puppets are, this play never really comes fully to life.
theSpace @ Venue 45, until 24 Aug (not 21, 23), 6.05pm.
tw rating 3/5 | [Andrew Bell]
