“Inventive and creative miniature worlds don’t make up for the lack of narrative”
Any attempt to bring Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities to life is laudable. His whimsical, imaginative neo-fables exist in the hinterland between philosophy, science and fantasy, making them indisputably difficult to translate into any other medium.
Co-creators and performers Matt Gawryk and Dan Kerr-Hobert make an earnest and endlessly creative attempt. The cities are described through the conversation between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan in voice over and spoken word, using the framing device of Calvino’s book. Accompanying this narration the two performers use miniature sets, intricate handmade props, puppets, living sculptures and paper mechanisms, all while creating effects using these through live projection.
There is impressive craftmanship on show. Each new construction demonstrates ingenuity and playfulness. Yet the show’s visual imagination doesn’t build up to anything more. The miniature sets often offer very literal representations of Calvino’s descriptions, whereas the original works’ allure lies in the invitation to imagine beyond them, into stranger and more fantastical territory.
The lack of plot or narrative structure begins to weigh heavily. Invention alone doesn’t sustain a full hour, and the production gradually becomes a carousel of ornate trinkets; beautiful, but increasingly repetitive. Any satirical subtext or commentary on cities is lost.
For Calvino devotees, this will be a joy – lovingly made and crafted adaptation. But while its miniature worlds are inventive, they cannot quite compensate for an absence of any grander architecture.
Dates: Showing at C Arts everyday between 5-30 August
Tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/italo-calvino-s-invisible-cities-a-toy-theater-atlas