Putting Hats On Ducks was the story of three rather clueless farmers who embarked on a quest to stop a railway from running through their farms. Encountering all manner of strange creatures they travelled the breadth of the world to appease Big Business and get their land back.
Even with the surrealist tone of the piece they were able to propel the plot with some sort of logic which would satisfy those who like solid structure in their theatre. There were however a number of elements introduced to the story that weren’t explained fully (ie. Why were the collected items important to the Big Business Boss?) or properly integrated into the tale. It was during these times that it felt like things were being included just for the sake of being weird and silly.
Laughs came from the trio’s constant wordplay involving the literal meaning of words. This was cute and endearing for the most part but there was a slow patch in the middle of the show where this wordplay dominated proceedings and the plot didn’t advance smoothly. Lovers of bad puns would be in heaven during a couple of sequences of horrendous puns using actor’s names.
The team from ‘A Lot of Bread’ (Lucy Shaw, Courtney Trathan and Madeleine Tucker) worked well on stage with all three being quite expressive with plenty of hamminess in keeping with the frivolity of the show. The change of scenes often consisted of one or all proclaiming “Off to…” as the stage faded to black. When the light came back up the only indication of a change of location was the rotation of a pair of boxes that were decorated as a miniature set. This minimal set dressing forced the actors to create most of the imagery for the audience through the script, their miming and their gestures.
The stage dressing, costuming and props consisted of numerous hand made items that were rather ingenious in their construction. They suited the show to a tee as professionally made items would look out of place. This was a bright and colourful show to match the personalities of the characters.
This show is a wonderfully whimsical show that embraces silliness wholeheartedly. If you allow yourself to be swept away in their strange world, you will have a marvelous time.
Visit the Comedy@Trades Website for booking details.