Our Cosmic Dust

An adaptation and translation  of a Japanese play, this small but affecting production makes the most of the tiny space at the Park Theatre with a massive screen taking up the full width and height of the back wall.  

The play is about a small boy setting off on a quest to try to find where his dad has gone after he died, since his mum tells him that dad has become a star. Shotaro becomes obsessed with trying to find out how that would have happened.  The narrative, as much as there is one, consists of Yoko (Millie Hikasa), Shotaro's mother trying to find where where her son has gone, meeting characters along the way and finding out what they each think happens after death.  Each of the characters are well drawn and likeable in their own right, bringing laughs and sometimes a more adult perspective on what often feels like a quite childlike story.  I loved the puppetry for the central character Shotaro and some of the scenes with the puppetry, full ensemble and the screen working together were really effective, although as we had a side seat we didn’t get the full effect.  With some of the same company as for the earlier The Garden of Words, (also at the Park theatre) the main puppeteer is Hiroki Berrecloth playing Shotaro's voice, but also his father, and I found the transition between the two really moving; by that stage I really believed that the puppet Shotaro was a real boy. 

A story about love and grief, mixing science and pragmatism with more metaphysical and playful explanations for the cosmos and what happens after death, I wasn’t quite sure if this was supposed to be for children or adults, with slightly too much explanation for adults, but also containing thoughtful adult themes that will probably pass children by.  Despite that slightly uneven tone I liked it a lot.