Back from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with rave reviews under their tiny belts and a trail of crystal-meth-fuelled destruction in their wake, the eponymous puppet brothers of Boris and Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure return to London for a series of adventures in the Arcola Tent. Who could resist the chance to spend an evening in the company of a pair of leathery puppets with dubious Eastern European accents, especially if they’re barely a foot tall?
Not for the squeamish: foul-mouthed duo Boris and Sergey make Punch and Judy sound like Sesame Street
Cabaret creates a heightened world where colours burn a bit brighter and everything is a performance. Add bunraku puppetry to the mix, with the puppeteers shamelessly visible, and you get a show where performance is laid bare more than ever. Stitched from slowly aging leather, each of our two hosts requires three humans to operate them. The tiny stage is always surrounded by people, who all channel their focus and energy into bringing the foul-mouthed, devious brothers to life.
The puppets’ self-consciousness is an essential element for the evening’s entertainment. Throwing off one of his puppeteers’ controlling hands, Sergey realises he is paralysed without her. Puppet existential crises are fascinating to watch.
On the chilly Saturday night in a half-empty Arcola Tent, a tremulous audience is easily convinced by Flabbergast Theatre’s accomplished puppetry. There is never any doubt in Boris’s or Sergey’s stage presence. An awkward atmosphere, however, follows between the artists and their audience when they improvise around invited interjections.
That said, Boris and Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure delivers good fun and loud laughs. The duo’s eccentric celebration of the golden age of Vaudeville features amusing episodes such as Sergey balancing on a blood orange and then tumbling into a sea of thumbtacks. Boris, in turn, does an excellent impression of Kate Bush, and faces his sibling in a hapless game of “Puppet Poker Pit”, with soul-stealing stakes.
Despite their foul mouths and the awkward moments, Boris and Sergey thoroughly charm the audience. That’s no mean feat for performers who don’t even have eyes.
Boris and Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure. Conceived and performed by Flabbergast Theatre. Arcola Tent, London E8 3DL. 13-18 November 2012. £14. metalchimp.wix.com/flabbergast
The poker-faced puppets are ready for new adventures at the Soho Theatre (London, W1D 3NE) on December 19th-22nd and 27th-29th. See metalchimp.wix.com/flabbergast for tickets and details.
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