Le Manékine is a dark fairytale, told through music, clown, puppetry, and video, all of which come together through the evocative performances of the two performers. The production shifts in its magnitude, starting with small puppets, shifting to bigger mask and full body puppetry, transforming the two performers into a whole suite of characters. Video then supplements, with stop motion style masked performers progressing the story. This is all underscored by one performer who plays so many instruments I lost count, often multiple at once. The music was truly integral, and supported the transformation of the other performer between many characters, each unique physically and vocally. The creation of spaces through small objects and puppet focus was inventive and fun.
It had moments that didn’t quite work, specifically some of the earlier song breaks, although they fed into the final one which was haunting. Overall a unique and playful performance that packs a punch.