Review: LIFE & TIMES OF MICHAEL K at Cape Town's Baxter Theatre And Handspring Puppet Company

If you have yet to see the work of Handspring Puppet Company, hurry to get tickets for Life & Times of Michael K in its limited run at the Bram Goldsmith Theater. The mechanics and manipulations must be seen to be believed— no one to my knowledge is maneuvering puppets quite like these masters. From the moment the piece begins, the protagonist, a four foot tall puppet manipulated by three actor/ puppeteers is mesmerizingly lifelike. Whether scaling a chainlink fence, breastfeeding, running from a perturbed goat, or wheezing a final breath, the puppet figures carry the narrative with impeccable artistry. Puppetry directors Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones have meticulously choreographed moments of intimacy and grandeur which defy description and punctuate the piece with enchanting challenges to the imagination. How does a puppet realistically give birth? How does a puppet swim? Can a puppet drink a spoonful of milk on stage?

Simon Kohler’s nuanced sound design fuses seamlessly with the noises generated by the ensemble to conjure each locale and incident without calling on overly-illustrative scenic design. The performance is underscored by subtly shifting music and soundscapes almost incessantly, but the sound never feels manipulative or unsupported by the narrative. The soundscape is so effective it almost goes unnoticed.

While the puppetry certainly makes the evening worthwhile, the piece itself, written and directed by Lara Foot and produced by Cape Town’s Baxter Theatre is a bit redundant and lacks propulsion. An adaptation of JM Coetzee’s Booker Prize winning novel, the narrative slogs through misfortune after misfortune, unfortunately mostly told through stagnant scenes weighed down by dialogue— at times, it struck me as antithetical to employ puppets who just sit still. After the first half hour, Michael K and his mother (both puppets) take off on a quest from Cape Town to Prince Albert in a whimsically-construed vehicle. This is the first theatrically-compelling action in the piece. The journey was delightful, but unfortunately short-lived.

It seems, in adapting the novel, Foot has transcribed the sequence of events without searching for theatrical footing to give the piece an active narrative arch. Further, the most imagistic language is relinquished to narration recited by the ensemble or else depicted by projections on the rear wall, ignoring the capabilities of puppetry as a medium. As a result, the production is a tepid play— albeit covering riveting subject matter— behind a genius display of puppetry.

It seems impossible in the western theatre tradition to view a piece like this one without thinking of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 1980 Nicholas Nickleby as adapted by David Edgar. That production similarly meanders through the misfortunes of one humble man, employing a small ensemble in dozens of roles. However, where Edgar highlighted the idiosyncrasies of each character, heightening them to amusing caricatures, Foot’s adaptation keeps every antagonist equally anonymous. Thus, school children acting as bullies feel sardonically equivalent to internment camp guards enforcing order in the waning days of apartheid. No one narrative line is honored with more weight than any other and, despite the efforts of a polished ensemble and a metaphorical message of hope toted in the eleventh hour, the overall effect feels unproductively glum.

It seems the story has bitten off more than it could feasibly relay in two hours time. The commentary it seems to want to make about the human condition might have been better served if the play were to focus on one aspect of Michael K’s life— perhaps with puppetry in mind, a play which further explored he and his mother’s quest for her home in Prince Albert would translate better to the stage. As is, we see too many people abuse or take advantage of Michael K without any sense of progression or notion that he is ever in real danger.

All that said, Life & Times of Michael K is still a worthwhile ticket for any fan of puppetry.

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