Tiny Ninja Theatre is a fantastic and unorthodox show which represents what many love about the Edinburgh Festival.
Inch high ninjas, brought to us via a New York vending machine, are the “actors” who tread the boards in a condensed, but uncomprimised, version of the Scottish play. This half hour show is exemplary of the diversity of the fringe. Where else could you see a grown man carrying out toy set-pieces and manipulating tiny ninja actors (does exactly what it says on the tin) with the aid of magnets, various domestic lighting appliances and hand.
Supplied with a pair of tiny ninja binoculars at the door, (a complimentary Tiny Ninja would have been nice!) the audience is seated in a small room where the tiny plastic action figures will undertake their dirty deeds.
The show is amusing in its imagination and colourful in its execution, but manages to maintain it’s emotional integrity. Given the light-hearted angle, the drama loses none of it’s poignancy. This is due to the very adaptable and commanding voice of the narrator/puppet master. Stand out portions of the interpretation are the Banquet and Macbeth’s guests and a very curious lighting fixture respectively.
Looking for something different in the true festival spirit? Then see it tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow…
A must see.
4/5
Steven Carey
