A basketball, a fish, and a motorcycle finds themselves on a long journey across the ocean after the tsunami hits Japan.
Should you see it?
Debris has a lot of heart and ambition, and it’s obvious that Daniel Wishes and Seri Yanai put a lot of love into this show. However, it could do with a lot less telling and a lot more showing. Yanai’s shadow puppets are truly beautiful works of art and the focus should be placed on them, instead of an overly wordy script.
What makes Debris unique is that it’s essentially a live short film done with shadow puppets. It’s a really interesting idea, and one with potential – if the performers would just let the images speak for themselves once in a while. As it is, the script is repetitive, heavy on the cheese and sometimes I was unsure if it was being serious or bordering on parody. It feels like Wishes and Yanai were going for the tone of a children’s book, but it just slows down the narrative.
Debris is visually striking, but its cluttered stage shows the exact problem I had with it; it’s an original, whimsical story that is being weighed down by a lot of stuff that distracts from the sweetness at its core.
For full show times and how to buy tickets, visit ottawafringe.com
But that’s just my opinion and I’d love to know what you think! What did you think of the shadow puppets? Did I miss something here? Am I being too hard on the script? Join the discussion in the comments below.