This is the story of a man who lives in a world of animals and is called a monster. He battles evil swans and tries to find his mentor who is being held captive by a man who is no longer a man, as all his parts have been replaced by clockwork devices. Sound complicated enough for you?

This weird and wonderful world is brought to life by Collapsing Horse theatre and will keep you smiling throughout. The play is aimed at kids (8-80 is where the flyer puts it), but has more than enough going on to keep adults entertained. There’s a wide variety of puppets brought to life by the various actors, who stand alongside their animal partners, controlling their movements and speech. The large cast of bears, dogs, snakes and monkeys are very well portrayed by the young actors. Aaron Heffernan is excellent as the flamboyant snake Coco, the ship captain and also as one of the dastardly swans!

They use a variety of techniques to tell this flamboyant tale, and include shadow projections and models along with the puppetry. The split level stage is used to good effect, with the various characters coming from above. Music is used throughout the piece and a small band is hidden towards the back of the stage, playing drums and various other instruments to heightened the mood. The four piece chorus act as the narrator setting the scene and are often involved in the events on stage.

The various little people in the audience were beaming with delight as they left the theatre on the night I saw the play, which is all you can ask. It is a bright and fast-moving production, that shows real ingenuity and freedom throughout.

Monster/ Clock runs in Smock Alley’s main space until March 30th, with tickets at €12/15.

Monster/ Clock – A play on Time

Collapsing Horse Theatre

Cast:

Toby: Siobhan Cullen

Mentor Genevieve: Hulme-Beaman

Coco: Aaron Heffernan

Father Time: Camille Lucy Ross

Biggles: Eoghan Quinn

Chorus:

Soprano: Siobhra Quinlan

Tenor: Richard Shaffrey

Mezzo Soprano: Sorcha Fenlon

Alto: Megan Riordan

Directed by: Dan Colley

See the video below from an earlier production of Monster/ Clock, which starred Jack Gleeson as Toby.