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Theatre listings > Children's Cheering Carpet (The Japanese Garden). - Italian Company, Tour & British Premiere. Part of the Childrens' Internationak Theatre Festival. Directors - Francesco Gandi, Davide Venturini. Music & Sound Designer - Spartaco Cortesi. Cast - here . Company - TPO (Teatro di Piazza O d'Occasione) Company Website. Seen to review at The Royal Lyceum Studio 24 May 2005. Run Time - 50 mins NO interval. Suggested Age - 5-11. Reviewer - Ruth Clowes. Divergent and ambitious. From the removal of our shoes before entering the auditorium to the traditional post-show tea ceremony an aura of calm and reverence runs through this whole intriguing performance. The audience is encouraged to hold hands as Stephania Zampiga ushers us to a small seating area to the side of the main performance space. Here she tells a short introductory story about the origins of the Japanese gardens, with hints towards its inherent symbolism. We then take our seats around the "carpet" (actually a large white dance mat), and begin our journey through five very special gardens, which are brought into being and explored by dancer Piero Leccese. The gardens are created by a combination of digital images and sounds, which are linked with the aid of 32 pressure sensors in the carpet itself. Leccese's playful, delicate dances are a reflection of the rest of the show and there are some humorous moments as we watch him balancing on water lily leaves floating on a lake, and composing tunes on a piano, the keys of which are also the linking planks of a bridge. It isn't long before children in the audience are invited, individually or in small groups, onto the carpet to explore the garden for themselves. It is here that the main problem with the concept emerges. The gardens are designed in such a way that allows very little freedom on the part of the young visitor, with prescribed places to stand and walk. It challenges the children taking part to solve a puzzle rather than invite them to approach the experience in their own way the latter would let them engage with the digital environment on a more individual level. Using the concept of a Japanese garden for this project is an enlightened idea, its structure and carefully controlled version of the natural world lending itself well to the regulated nature of the digital sounds and images. With additional work to the interactive element of the performance this divergent and ambitious Italian company is well on the way to carving itself a unique niche in children's theatre. © Ruth Clowes 27 May 2005 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Cast - Stefania Zampiga and Piero Leccese. Theatre Editor, Thelma Good's e-mail is thelma@edinburghguide.com Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in these pages, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions. Theatre listings >
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