Review: Whale, Where Are You Going? (Assembly Roxy)

It takes a while to get to the whale

I propose that there are three types of children’s theatre. There is the educational type – good for us, like veggies. There is the energetic type – exciting but devoid of substance, like sweets. Then there is my favourite, the storytelling type – soothing and nourishing, like a warm glass of milk. Taiwanese production Whale, Where Are You Going? is firmly in this last camp. This wordless performance sees an isolated old man and a young boy become friends and go in search of a whale that the old man saw once. The child in question is performed by a puppet, with unblinking dots for eyes and a line for a mouth, but he is endearing nonetheless. Before we meet our young friend, first we meet his playful puppeteers, dressed in dungarees and bucket hats.

Photo Credit: Liu Ding-Qian

It's never quite clear what the relationship is between the boy, the old man, and the puppeteers. For the target audience that doesn’t matter too much, what does matter is that they are entertained. It takes quite a while to get to the puppetry, and all we have in the meantime is some physical comedy that doesn’t land. The staging is messy, which is good for showing the old man is lonely, but less helpful when you are trying to follow the story. When we are eventually treated to puppetry and shadow play, it clearly has the younger audience members engaged. After that, it takes even longer before we set off in search of the whale – not until the last fifteen minutes, in fact. There is fun and mischief to be had in the old man’s apartment, but similar shows have done far more to stimulate the imagination with far less in their suitcase.

The strongest moments by far are when they come out to the audience. Paper airplanes fly over children’s heads, and a stained-glass shadow of a whale is cast over the audience, which was a moment of wonder even for me. Those are the moments that children will excitedly recollect to friends and family. Whale, Where Are You Going? certainly has a playful spirit that will keep young children entertained, but do not expect them to be able to remember the story. Three stars.

Whispers from the Crowd: "You can tell your own story, since it is non-verbal. I like that very much. I especially liked the old man."

Whale, Where Are You Going? will play as part of Taiwan Season at Assembly Roxy at 10:10 until the 24th of August