‘Dead As A Dodo’ − Written, directed, and set design by Gwendolyn Warnock and Kirjan Waage. Original Music and Sound Design by Thor Gunnar Thorvaldsson. Puppet Design and Construction by Kirjan Waage. Touring Lighting Design by Scott Monnin. Presented by ArtsEmerson, from March 5th to March 8th at Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116.
By Charlotte Snow
Puppetry has been a staple of theatricality for centuries, but it often gets a bad rap as being trite and hokey. But in recent years, many theatre companies have been pushing back against this narrative, creating innovative and thought-provoking puppet plays for kids and adults alike. Gloriously, the Wakka Wakka theatre company practically demands that Dead As A Dodo joins, if not leads, the fold of exceptional puppet shows.
The story of Dead as a Dodo follows the skeleton of a young boy and his Dodo Bird best friend navigating the realm of the dead. Their friendship is tested when the boy starts disappearing due to a literal loss of his bones, and Dodo mysteriously starts coming back to life. While doing their best to hold onto each other, the two embark on an odyssey through whimsical and imaginative realms.
The execution of this plot takes this already fantastical play and elevates it. The purposefully dark and dim set and lighting allowed the puppeteers to be barely perceptible while also doubling as scenery, as the puppets use the puppeteer’s backs as rocks to sit on and roads to travel. S
The direction from writers and directors Warnock and Waage is slick, inventive, and stuffed to the brim with gags and heart, although some of the scenes run a bit longer than necessary. Still, the charm and sentimentality never waver. The ensemble is incredibly tight-knit and versatile, often moving in astonishing harmony.
The real standouts of this production are the puppets and the design team’s work. The puppeteering demands incredible physicality, and the puppets themselves express their emotions with a mix of zaniness and earnestness. Each puppet is imbued with a distinctive and equally captivating energy. Thor GunnarThorvaldsson’s sound design is impactful, and his original songs are stupefyingly catchy, with some dancing in my head days after leaving the theatre. The design elements work together harmoniously to convincingly bring to life an ambitious cinematic theatrical experience.
Sitting close to the stage allowed me to experience moments of “how the sausage gets made”. If you are fascinated by puppetry and want to witness the troupe’s techniques, the first few rows offer a perfect view. If you prefer to be fully immersed in the story, you may want to sit in the middle of the theatre or closer to the back.
Dead As A Dodo had me locked in and leaning forward in my seat from start to finish. It’s so rare to watch a piece that feels more like an experience than a play, and leave feeling so emotionally moved and impacted. My only complaint about the production is that it had such a short run (closed on Sunday, March 8). Dead As A Dodo is a tour de force of theatrical process and − despite the play’s title − breathes new life into this old art form.
