The Magic Chicken; puppetry and physical comedy family theatre review

 Barnie Duncan and Trygve Wakenshaw star in the stage production The Magic Chicken. Image: Theatre Beating.

Comic Chefs by Linh

Award-winning New Zealand theatre company Theatre Beating has re-worked, re-designed and revived their original stage production The Magic Chicken for their Australian tour. The Magic Chicken was created in 2004 and toured New Zealand for a few years, receiving rave reviews. In 2014 during the school holidays, The Magic Chicken is in Australia to delight, surprise and entertain audiences from ages seven to a hundred and seven.

Barnie Duncan with Ethel the magic chicken (Oliver Smart) and her golden egg in the stage production The Magic Chicken. Image: Theatre Beating.

The Magic Chicken combines diverse styles of comedy from theatre and silent cinema; including slapstick, pantomime, puppetry and magic, with musical accompaniment by John Bell and Jeff Henderson which accentuates and compliments the actors’ gestures and emotions. This family theatre production has only a few words spoken during the entire play and is reminiscent of the physical comedy and humour of silent films featuring Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

Barnie Duncan and Trygve Wakenshaw as the two chefs Toot and Collins with Ethel the chicken (Oliver Smart) in the stage production The Magic Chicken. Image: Theatre Beating.

In the play, two hapless and bungling chefs named Toot (Trygve Wakenshaw) and Collins (Barnie Duncan) are failing to attract customers, until a magic chicken who lays golden eggs, enters their cafe. Her name is Ethel (puppeteer Oliver Smart) and she is escaping the Evil Eric (Kai Smythe) who follows her into the café. Evil Eric fails to find Ethel and he leaves, but Ethel makes her way into the kitchen while Toot and Collins are busy preparing meals. The pair decide to adopt Ethel after growing fond of her, but a short time later, Evil Eric returns to have a meal. Hilarity ensues when the chefs attempt to save Ethel from Evil Eric as they fumble around in the kitchen, juggling pots and pans, tossing pizza dough and flour, sliding on and leaping under tables or diving in and out the oven.

Puppeteer extraordinaire Oliver Smart gives Ethel a hand backstage for the stage production The Magic Chicken. Image: Instagram.

Under the direction of Geoff Pinfield, this fifty-minute stage production is packed with visual gags, slow-motion action scenes, Drew McMillan’s magnificent score is wonderfully performed by John Bell and Jeff Henderson and the cast also give excellent performances. Trygve (pronounced Trig-vee) Wakenshaw and Barnie Duncan deftly handle all the physical comedy and their characters’ calamitous situations with aplomb; Kai Smythe is superb as the gruff and Neanderthal-like chicken-catcher Evil Eric; Ethel the chicken is endearing and plucky courtesy of the skilled hands and imagination of puppeteer Oliver Smart.

 

Kai Smythe backstage as Evil Eric for Adelaide's stage production The Magic Chicken. Image: Facebook.

The Magic Chicken is a gastro-nomic rib-tickling and laughter-inducing treat for everyone who enjoys comedy served up with brilliant comic timing and a dash of audience participation.

*Tour Details:

Where:

Adelaide season at the Dunstan Playhouse

When:

Tuesday 22 to Sunday 27 April 2014.

Two performances each day at 10am and 1pm.

Tickets:

Adults $25, Concession $22, Children $20.

Where:

Sydney season at the Sydney Opera House

When:

Wednesday 9 July to Sunday 13 July 2014.

Two performances each day at 11am and 1:30pm.

Tickets: 

Standard $30, Insiders (Sydney Opera House membership) $24.

*All tour dates and ticket prices are correct at the time of publishing.