Puddles and Amazons
★★★★☆ Joyfully unique
Summerhall (Venue 26): Thurs 1 – Mon 26 Aug 2024
Review by Sophie Good
Guy Wood’s imaginative piece of solo storytelling uses live audio mixing to bring this curious tale to life in Puddles and Amazons at Summerhall’s Demonstration Room at the Fringe.
A child’s paddling pool and a bucket of water await Woods as he strides on stage, awkward in his underwear. He is an empathetic and unique storyteller, using live-recorded sound effects, created with some audience help, to tell of the childhood and teenage years of his protagonist, Simon, of his family tragedy and a rare (fictional) health condition.
Guy Woods in promo shot for Puddles & Amazons. Pic: Amy Urquhart
Audiences are warned about mild participation and water in advance, neither of which should put any reluctant introverts off. Most of the sound is deftly created by foley artist Woods himself, and he occasionally asks for help from the audience in creating the background of a school canteen for example.
All quite enjoyable and safe. Although you might get a slight splash of water from his miniature paddling pool, which is used for many different settings and sound effects.
At times, he records the sound of beach, with sploshing water and even an errant seagull, and deftly creates footsteps in snow by crunching on an ice cream cone. It’s all very engaging to watch him do this; but moreover adds a crucial layer when it is used as a soundscape for the next part of the story.
It’s not all gimmick and high jinx however; there is a strong narrative pace to this story and you care about Simon, who Woods plays at several different ages from boyhood to adolescence to ‘not quite a boy, not quite a man’. It is, at times a series of sketches, many of them funny and often embarrassingly vulnerable, portraying Simon’s highs and lows. Woods embodies the other various characters with commitment and steers away from too much farcical energy (on the whole).
seamless
It has been directed well by Rachel Flynn who has clearly worked hard to keep the story moving and controlling the many events that Woods wants share. The production is seamless, despite the spontaneity of the sound design, while the set and space serve well to create a canvas for the energetic japery.
By the end of the story, you’re rooting for Simon to triumph over adversity and move on from his early life tragedies. Most importantly, you want him to heal the relationship he has with his dad. It’s the father son relationship that adds the emotional heft the piece need and the pay off at the end brings you back to the deeper meaning of the piece. Further exploration of this father/son relationship sooner into the play could have given even more for the audience to invest in.
There is much silliness and absurdity to be enjoyed in Puddles and Amazons and a surreal magical realism keeps things playful and fun. But the audio techniques Woods uses to place you in the moment add a real splash of joy and enthralment and gives this piece a true heart as well as an entertaining story.
Running time: 50 minutes (no interval)
Summerhall (Demonstration Room), 1 Summerhall, EH9 1PL (Venue 26)
Thurs 1 Aug – Mon 26 Aug 2024
Daily (not 12, 19): 4.40pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
ENDS
