Edinburgh Festival Fringe Review – Pinocchio – Adventures in the Metropolis **

theSpace @ Venue45

ReShape Theatre’s update on Pinocchio promises “stunning lifelike puppetry, moving urban sets and engrossing digital soundscapes.” It’s a description that sounds intriguing, but ultimately fails to deliver.

The conceit of setting Carlo Collodi’s tale in a modern city setting seems a natural choice, and it should work well. But there is little sense of real menace here and the urban sets lack the impact they could have.

However, the biggest problem is that the company just seem to have bitten off more than they can chew. The lifesize wooden puppet looks impressive, but the puppeteers lack the expertise to bring him properly to life. Lines of dialogue are delivered indistinctly – to the back of the stage, or too quickly.

One of the great joys of the Fringe is its accessibility to all levels of production. Young companies and amateurs can flourish, but ReShape may want to return with a slightly less ambitious project that we may see their real strength.