Quality Waffle

Sometimes I go to the theatre to hear stories I haven’t heard before, or to hear stories I’ve read but I’d like to see how another storyteller could tell them, sometimes I go because it’s more fun than sitting on the couch watching the Late Late Show.

This time round I went because a friend knew a guy in the play. Situations like that never really make you hope for much, but said play is on in Smock Alley, which in my humble opinion is probably the most beautiful theatre in Dublin and this is my fourth play in there and it has yet to let me down.

Written by Eoghan Quinn, who also acts in the play and is by all appearances, only a young ‘un; MONSTER/CLOCK is by its own declaration a play on time. I am subject to exaggeration sometimes, but this play is honestly one of the most creative pieces of theatre I’ve seen in a while.

It involves puppets, and I’ll be honest with you in the first 20 minutes I wasn’t entirely convinced by them – they’re hand puppets so there’s a large human behind them who also voices them. After the initial hesitation though I quickly got into the spirit of things and those little fluffy characters were as real to me as the household charge.

The story is a real beauty – it’s an imaginative tale of a boy who is seen as a monster in a world of puppets. This boy is a particularly talented horologist (yes I did think of that particularly geeky little boy on the Toy Show two years ago). When he’s faced with the challenge of solving a final challenge so he can save his mentor (a koala, sure you’d have to save the little guy), he has to embark on a journey well outside his comfort zone, travelling to far off lands and meeting lots of colourful characters along the way.

The creativity and imagination in putting together this piece of theatre is astounding. It’s a gorgeously fun way to spend an hour and a half and I would highly highly recommend it. There were little ones at the show with us and they seemed to enjoy it as much as the adults.

Extra performances have been added due to popular demand so you have up until April 14th to catch this show. Visit Smock Alley website for more info – tickets start from €12.