It is a pleasure to see a children’s show in which the adults are laughing as hard as the children. One such show is Professor Bumm’s Story Machine, a wonderful piece of improvisation and madness from the Black Sheep’s Andrew Jones and Ciaran Murtagh.
Meet Professor Ivor Bumm (Jones) and Doctor Willy Whee (Murtagh), two eminent scientists who have created a story machine of such elegance and sophistication that given only the slightest amount of data input, it can create the perfect story. The audience, who Bumm and Whee are pleased to find are a host of eminent professors, provide the data for the machine and prepare for the story. This is where it all goes horribly wrong for the scientists. But not for Murtagh and Jones - this is where they shine.
Under the guise of covering the machine’s malfunction Bumm and Whee create the stories on the spot and brilliant stories they are too. Jones and Murtagh work with, and sometimes against, each other to push their creative levels to the limit and the result is a delight. Each story relies on a different technique, from props or sound effects arriving to be incorporated into the story to creating a tale by alternating every word between the two actors. My particular favourites were purple monster story and the bedroom search for a beard tale.
I thoroughly enjoyed this unique show. It will be different tomorrow and different the next day, as the data input will depend on the new audience. I know it will still be inventive and brilliant, so go and see this one.
5/5
Alexander Donald
