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A CurtainUp 
London Review
London ReviewSlap Dash Galaxy
by Tim Macavoy
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Ooooohoooooow — Junior
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This new offering sends us on an interstellar journey with brothers Sam and Junior. The cut-out couple have to flee their war-torn homeworld, leaving their mother, to go and live with their uncle on a distant planet. To get there they must first battle a space-chef, an evil spider, and Junior’s urge to pull all the wrong levers. Apart from the storyline, what you're essentially doing is watching a middle aged man (dressed in some quite extraordinary tights) play around with toys he's made in his attic - although it's much less creepy than I've just made it sound.
Achtem pulls out some of the same wonderful tricks with cardboard and light, but adds some new effects in the form of giant smoke rings, a bubble machine and a balloon-made spider on a pulley. The audience are regularly used and abused to help the immersive storytelling (yours truly had to don a furry hat to represent a planet hiding some sort of alien mouse). For younger viewers there’s a touch of “mild peril” (as the censors would say), so think about whether your littlun would be affected by potential death by alien monsters.
This press showing came at a fairly early stage in his UK run, and there were some teething problems, beyond the usual haphazard carnage that follows Achtem around anyway. He’s so good at improvising that he managed to get away with most of the hiccups, but nobody could fight the blazing sunshine. The Spiegeltent (albeit a lovely venue) was just not dark enough to capture all of the light and shadow that was being projected onto the walls and ceiling. If you can wait until the Edinburgh Fringe shows at the Underbelly, then I would save your viewing for those dark caverns, by which time the show will surely be as slick and popular as its predecessor.
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| Slap Dash Galaxy
Created and performed by Jeff Achtem Running time: 50 minutes with no interval Booking to 27th July 2012 at The Priceless London Wonderground, London (0844 875 0073) Booking 2nd – 26th Aug 2012 at the Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh (0844 545 8252) Reviewed by Tim Macavoy based on 22nd July 2012 performance at The Priceless London Wonderground at Southbank Centre, London, SE1 (Rail/Tube: Waterloo/Embankment) |
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