Minerva is a young girl, who prefers the fantastical Shadow world of her dreams, where she is a beloved celebrity, to the mundanity and toil of her boring home and school life. So much so, that when a new girl appears at school, newly arrived from a war-torn foreign land, Minerva wants to bring her into her dreams. But in doing so, she accidentally rends a tear in the realm and releases Oizys, the spirit of anxiety, who threatens to destroy everything.
Like its 2022 show, Space Hippo, Mochinosha Puppet Company has crafted a beautiful tale through means of bespoke shadow puppetry and simple lighting effects, spinning a parable about modern life, anxiety, trauma and worry in a way that feels like the darker cousin of Pixar’s Inside Out.
It really is something of a family show. The adventure that Minerva goes on has a smack of Alice in Wonderland, with a hint of Neil Gaiman tossed in, but all suffused with a sly wit and a knowing wink. While this is absolutely a show which would entertain a younger audience, it’s filled to the brim with jokes and nods that will keep any adults present giggling. But it’s not a kids' show. There are a few moments where it threatens to all become a little too arch, and the subject matter hits a weighty and frenetic climax that builds so subtly and powerfully that the show itself breaks the fourth wall to calm things down a little.
It’s one of the more wacky and unusual tales that you’ll see at the Fringe this year, and like Space Hippo before, it’s one that you won’t quickly forget. It would be a real shame if it doesn’t fill out the theatre a lot more than it did when I saw it, as Mochinosha has really crafted something beautiful, strange, and above all thoroughly entertaining.