Shadow Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe

There were two trends this year at the Fringe which I noted - one was being picked up by the media. That was the trend towards storytelling. It was a trend that was actively espoused by some, and actively shunned by others. I can't tell you how many acrobatic gymnastic shows I had to review there were without any sense of plot or narrative.

But the other, more interesting trend, that wasn't picked up by the media was the use of shadow theatre. In "Sweeney Todd: His Life, Death and Execution", there was a professional use of shadow theatre which was some of the best I saw on the Fringe. It stood out both by the irregular shape of the screen (like a sail), the unusual lighting (a rotating fan in front of a stage light to emulate fire light) and the quality of the performance in general. As with all the shows I saw, shadow theatre appeared as an aside within a conventional theatre performance, and shadow puppetry techniques were also used.

The Gannet, a low-budget show which explored a modern interpretation of the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel employed shadow theatre to advance action and set scene. Again, combined with shadow puppetry and conventional theatre. It was the least successful. The lighting wasn't supportive of the shadow, and the screen was too transparent. Actors could be seen warming up behind the screen, destroying the magical atmosphere; a bird formed partly out of cut-out paper and a human hand for the beak looked as if it was made of two different materials rather than both being absorbed into one material - shadow. Interesting use was made of strips of cloth, attached to the top of the frame with velcro and moved about to create different scenes, but the changes were executed in full light and thus again, lost the magic.

An interesting take on the shadow theatre screen idea being transformed was in The Puppet-Man Show, where a shadow theatre emerged out of a glove puppet theatre. The screen was made of lining paper strips glued together horizontally at the edges. The shadow theatre was used effectively to help tell the Andersen story of The Shadow. It's really hard to get movements to coordinate between actors facing forward and shadow theatre performers who can't see what's happening. They almost managed it - but not quite. Better not to attempt it than to produce a half-baked effect was the lesson I learned. Then the screen was painted on, transforming into the background for the next story, which was cut into to form an opening for the following story, and broken through at the end. It would have been perfect had the horizontal strips not destroyed the seamlessness of the shadows, jarring the images, and highlighting the fact that this was a theatrical illusion, making it appear contrived.

More often than not, shadow effects were used (at worst in my favourite show of the season - Circa) and not enough thought given to how they would appear on stage. Rarely, they created a fantastic dramatic effect, as in a couple of the last shows I saw - Trapped, a dance show which had a final scene created with moving mechanical toys marching across an OHP screen. During the show, the performers' shadows and the shadows cast by the set - two huge cages which the performers used to dance within, around, and climb all over were fantastic. It takes more space to fill with shadow than it does with a person and this company really used shadow to fill that space. The final show I saw was on the main Festival - Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria, which combined life size puppetry with live opera and digital animation and ultrasound imagery to create a rich story of an individual's battle against fate and destiny. Shadow puppetry was used sparsely to great effect.

There's definitely something in the air - and where my own thoughts are heading is different to all the above - and that is to create pure shadow theatre - one screen, on which a story is played out by the shadows of live actors. No more, no less. How to create and sustain pure magic without being monotonous ... well, that's what I hope to work out over the next few months.

The shadow leads when the sun is behind

The shadow goes first when the sun lights up the path. It explores, with first experience, the newness. That which light made visible, it covers. And when the sun shines into my eyes, my shadow extends back over the path I've travelled, relishing my steps.

The first draft of "Under The Arabian Moon" has ended, I am without shadow - temporarily. For the light shines from two directions - the light of experience, illuminating the past, and the light of hopes and dreams illuminating the path ahead, obscured by my shadow, but also delineated by it.

Is it being pushed forward by the sun, or pulling itself away?

To look backwards - much was achieved. More than I had imagined possible - effects of multicoloured shadows, projection using OHP, but the most telling, moving images were the simplest - shadow theatre. That is where my first love lies, and where my direction of travel and development is likely to be headed.

To look forwards - I hope to achieve much more. In October, I go off to Schwabisch Gemeund, a small town in Germany to attend a workshop and performances at the Triennial International Shadow Theatre Festival. Technical knowledge is a must, and hopefully networking and discussion will lead to opportunities to share knowledge, develop work.