![\"Craig](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Craig-Leo-Marty-Kintu-Michael-K-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Craig Leo and Marty Kintu, working “Michael K.” Photo by Fiona McPherson, as is the one at the top this review.<\/p><\/div>\n
The production is puppetry, projections, and perfection.<\/p>\n
Life and Times of Michael K\u00a0<\/em>is so<\/em> stunning that nobody in the audience I saw it with talked for the entire two hours! It seemed like no one even breathed<\/em>.<\/p>\n The first line of the description of that artistic company on their website is: “World leaders in the art of puppetry, the Handspring Puppet Company\u00a0redefines what is possible in contemporary theatre.” Never has there been a more apt assessment!!!<\/p>\n The company is so wonderful, in fact, that I\u2019m tearing myself inside-out trying to come up with a review that\u2019s worthy of them! So please forgive me if it\u2019s a little disjointed.<\/p>\n How did they, or anyone<\/em>\u00a0actually, think of turning JM Coetzee\u2019s\u00a0complicated 1983 South African novel into not only a play<\/em>, but one with a puppet\u00a0<\/em>playing the lead??? It boggles\u00a0my mind. So let\u2019s discuss the puppet cast first.<\/p>\n The other characters are played by humans, but Michael, his elderly mother, and a trio of adorable children are the puppets. They are sooo life-like and expressive despite having faces that do not move! I seriously believed that they were real people.<\/p>\n (L-R, not counting the puppet children) Nolefefe Ntshuntshe, Markus Schabbing, and Andrew Buckland. Photo by Fiona McPherson.<\/p><\/div>\n Michael is the main one, of course, and at one point, he gets undressed, so we get a glimpse into how he\u2019s made. He’s wooden, but not solid-\u2013when he\u2019s naked, (with anatomically correct wood!,) his body looks just kind of like twigs put together.\u00a0It\u2019s incredible that an artist can come up with that work.<\/p>\n All the movement is fascinating. I was especially captivated by his walking.<\/p>\n Now, let\u2019s get to the humans, who are such talented people. As stunning as the magical puppetry is, the cast is comprised of incredible actors. Some act and perform the puppetry, which is just mind-blowing to me. As the saying goes, I cannot even walk <\/em>and chew gum<\/em> at the same time!<\/p>\n Their acting is made even more special by their beautiful South African accents. Their diction and enunciation are so perfect that I did not miss even one word of the almost-two-hour dialogue. (That might be one reason for no audience chat during the show\u2014no one had to ask their seat-mate, \u201cWhat did they say?\u201d)<\/p>\n (L-R, not counting the puppet) Faniswa Yisa, Billy Edward, Craig Leo, Carlo Daniels, Sandra Prinsloo, and Andrew Buckland. Photo by Fiona McPherson.<\/p><\/div>\n I could listen to the actors speak all day, partly for a personal reason. One of my favorite friends in the world, Gina Nel, is from there. Even though she\u2019s always in my heart, I haven\u2019t seen her in years, so when I hear people who sound like she does, it warms my heart while bringing a tear to my eye. (With her<\/em> lovely speech, she always made me do my exaggerated Brooklyn accent for her, which made her laugh more than anything. Glad to oblige. I guess opposites do<\/em> attract.)<\/p>\n The bare bones of Michael K. Photo by Fiona McPherson.<\/p><\/div>\n On top of all of the above, Life and Times of Michael K<\/em> is an intriguing tale. (And I love that there\u2019s no \u201cThe\u201d at the beginning of\u00a0the title.) It\u2019s basically about the journey of one man, (who was born with a cleft lip, which made his life somewhat difficult,) from Cape Town to his mother\u2019s native in South Africa. And it\u2019s all complicated by a (fictitious) civil war. But there\u2019s a lot of humor among the bleakness. And the live action is augmented by projections and soundless videos.<\/p>\n One caveat if you\u2019re ever lucky enough to see it anywhere: don’t let your mind wander for even a minute because it can be a bit confusing at times.\u00a0But you\u2019ll always get the gist. And be awed by the beauty of the production.<\/p>\n Since this was a very limited engagement, Life and Times of Michael K<\/em>\u00a0is over at the Wallis. But I suggest you keep an eye out to see if it\u2019s ever playing near you.<\/p>\n And to make sure you don\u2019t miss any of the Wallis\u2019 future<\/em> worthwhile presentations, please check-out their full schedule right here: www.thewallis.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" LIFE AND TIMES OF MICHAEL K How lucky we Angelenos are to have the Wallis theatre in our midst, in general, but last week-end in particular because we were treated to this extraordinary show. There are not enough superlatives for Life and Times of Michael K, but the words brilliant, phenomenal, stupendous, astonishing, fantastic, and<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>