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THE SHOP OF
LITTLE HORRORS
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay,
Fri 28 + Sat 29 Mar
Tickets: £8-£12.
Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk
First off, it’s nothing to do with hungry vegetation; this macabre production
stems instead from the mute terror often inspired by dead-eyed puppets.
Ventriloquist dummy maker Albert Grimlake is getting old, and he’s looking
for a successor to take over his Emporium of Novelties. Just when it seems
like his time has run out, it looks as if he’s found the perfect apprentice in
Muppet enthusiast Eric, who can’t wait to get involved in the shady world of
puppetry. But The Shop Of Little Horrors is more Chucky than Kermit, and
the curiosities in the old shoppe are looking more lifelike by the day.
It’s more or less a two-man show, put on by Pickled Image and North Wall,
but of course there are plenty of other plastic performers on hand (literally)
to guide us through the play’s sinister course. Every aspect of the show
will unsettle, from the makeup to the musical backing to the ventriloquism
itself. It’s a bit of an antidote to War Horse-style spectacular, but it
generates just as much dark energy as those West End productions. The
Weston Studio space means you get up close and personal with the strange
denizens of the Emporium,