A Twisted Memory Play for a Dying Art

Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch. Rouge Artists Ensemble. 5/25/07.

It cannot be denied that the Rogue Artists do weird and fascinating work. The dark storytelling of Neil Gaiman and the scary collage aesthetic of Dave McKean are a perfect match for their skillful puppet and mask work. As a result, The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch was a strange and twisted piece of theater suffused with nostalgia for a nearly lost art form.

Though the production used most of the text directly from Gaiman and McKean's graphic novel, some of the plot was rather unclear (in a way that it is more clear in the graphic novel), but the intertwinging of a strange personal history with the story of Punch and Judy shows communicated the general point even if some of the details were fuzzy. The idea of coming to terms with memories by creating puppet plays in your head suffused the piece with an odd sense of dream reality that explained when ideas were unclear.

What is remarkable about this particular project, however, is not the storytelling where something may have been lost in adaptation. Instead, the craftsmanship and artistry of the troupe, and particularly Director Sean T. Cawelti, Puppet Designer Joyce Hutter, and Mask Designer Pat Rubio, deserve recognition. The integration of puppets, masks, shadow work, and video made this performance a facinating collage of forms and styles. They captured the stange, dark atmosphere of the piece beautifully.

The show itself dragged in the second act, and there were bits that were weird and confusing in the storytelling, but in general I enjoyed this piece very much and resolved to keep abreast of future Rogue Artists productions. Their work leaves me with the impression that eventually they will do something absolutely transcendent, even if this wasn't necessarily that piece.