Adapted for the Stage by Lara Foot

In Collaboration with Baxter Theatre Centre and the Handspring Puppet Company

Review by Josie Rose Embleton

On a misty-lit Edinburgh Fringe stage, a life story is told. The delicate and masterful form of puppeteer storytelling is adopted as JM Coetzee’s 1983 novel is brought carefully to its feet as the character of Michael K begins to stand.

Lara Foot’s stage adaptation is exquisite as the art of performance is at its highest standard. The collaboration between the Tony Award-winning Handspring Puppet Company renowned for lauded productions such as War Horse and Little Amal fame and two-time Scotsman Fringe First winners Baxter Theatre Centre, makes for a two-hour theatrical masterpiece.

The talented South African cast, Sandra Prinsloo, Andrew Buckland, Faniswa Yisa, puppet master Craig Leo, Roshina Ratnam, Carlo Daniels, Markus Schabbing, Billy Langa and Nolufefe Ntshuntshe, bring to life puppets in ways so controlled and intricate, as the story becomes ever more compelling. Beginning with Michael K’s humble life as a gardener with a cleft lip, the play explores the relationship he had with his mother, Anna, who after becoming sick, sits in his handmade cart to travel through South Africa to her rural home. His life hardens further following her death, as he works starving and impoverished, with the lingering backdrop of a menacing civil war. Ideas of humanity, loss, connection, conflict, and inner-strength drift toward the audience as they watch this unique story unfold.

The creative use of projection and shadow following Michael K and his mother through their journey, adds to the stunning technical aesthetic. The musical score increases the play’s emotional impact as the actors perform and narrate in hauntingly touching tones. Beautifully in sync are the puppet masters that their puppets constantly edge toward becoming real-life, as the clever interactions between the ensemble create entirely holistic and believable characters.

Slightly longer than most other fringe shows, having a running time of two hours, this stage adaptation of JM Coetzee’s Life and Times of Michael K reminds its audience with skill, grace, precision and elegance, the beauty of a single life.