Preview: Laminated at Tristan Bates

I’ve always been a hoarder. Moving house to house has become something of a habit in the past few years of my life and while packing is something I have come to loathe, there is something unnervingly revealing about the process of deciding what to keep and what to throw away. Often it becomes more than simply what will fit in the box…

Laminated, the latest production to appear at Tristan Bates theatre in Covent Garden, a venue famed for its proud showcasing of daring outside companies and innovative productions, tackles this very issue: what do you keep hold of and what do you throw away?

Written and directed by Darren Bolton, Founder of Shooting Fish Theatre Company, Laminated tells the story of a struggling writer and his attempts to come to terms with his failed relationship as he packs up his life.

Among cardboard boxes, Charlie (Johnny Vivash) finds himself reflecting and assessing the successes and failures throughout his life, inevitably falling on thoughts of past loves in the shape of recent ex-girlfriend, Katie (Emily Bignell).

Inventing stories and memories to educate the audience, and also to suit his more preferential recollection of his past, Charlie improvises a new life into existence. Discarded clothes become people, boxes become mountains as Laminated digs deep into the subconscious, exploring why we keep things we don’t really need and why we throw something away that we then spend our lives wishing we hadn’t, whether this is an old toy or an old love.

As visual as it is imaginative, Laminated stands out with its unique mix of physical theatre and puppetry, as directed by puppeteer extraordinaire, Robert Tyger, whose credits include principal puppeteer for Little Shop of Horrors, Spitting Image and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

Using puppets to articulate that which cannot be spoken, fantasy soon merges with reality, making it even more difficult for Charlie to see what is true, not helped by the presence of ex Katie, whose influence over him only grows stronger.

Laminated invites us into a world of shameless imagination and make-believe, while simultaneously breaking down the boundaries of where a dream ends and reality begins as we are asked to consider all the things in life we can see, but can’t always touch.

With Laminated ready to begin its three-week London run on January 31, Shooting Fish’s eagerly anticipated return to the London stage looks set to solidify its reputation, renown at the forefront of ground-breaking theatre in the capital.

Laminated runs from January 31 to February 19 (except Sundays) at:

Tristan Bates Theatre
1A Tower St,
Covent Garden
WC2H 9NP

Tel: 020 7240 6283