The Secret Shark Collective’s shadow puppet and improv show is nostalgic and imaginative
Photo via Kaleidoscope Theatre.
“It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.”
Thus opens Game:Play, an indie-produced shadow puppet and improv show performed by four UVic theatre alumni known as The Secret Shark Collective. Ciarán Volke, Ryan Kniel, Kaylee Cavanagh, and Una Rekic’s one-hour performance, which tells a tale of, you guessed it, games, is a collaboration with the Belfry Theatre’s Incubator Program, which offers emerging artists mentorship and theatre space to showcase their work.
Although the exact details of the show vary from performance to performance, the story’s structure remains the same: a group of childhood friends reunite as adults to play games.
Being an improv show, the success of the show depends heavily on the performers and their ability to play off each other without pauses or gaps in the action. The performers have to be quick on their feet, thinking up engaging scenarios for the audience and playing off whatever their scene partner throws at them. This is facilitated by the structure of the show, which has certain plot points that are hit each show. The scenes often have a set up that’s been decided ahead of time before shifting to an improvised game of hide and seek, Twister, musical chairs, etc. And the chemistry the performers have is so strong that the audience forgets the show is improvised in the first place.
The story is centered around a group of friends who struggle to stay connected into adulthood while being challenged with the messiness of navigating relationships both new and old. This conflict allows the cast to let the more serious moments have their space and gives the story a strong throughline that stays in focus even when things get silly, like when members of the audience participate in a frog race across the stage.
The actors do a convincing job of not only portraying each of their characters as young children but also the grown-up versions of those children. And there’s never a moment where the performers have to visibly pause and think, as those are often hidden by audience laughter anyway.
Game:Play’s humour is built around childlike absurdity, situational humour, and the wonder of playing games. Given the performer’s skill, the humour comes together and doesn’t need to rely on wacky situations alone. Instead, the characters and performers create nostalgic moments of both comedy and drama by playing games like hide and seek and allowing the audience to share in genuine moments of creativity and imagination.
The use of shadow puppets and prop work on a projector adds to this feeling of childlike wonder and makes the audience feel like they’re following along with a child’s imaginary world. Not to mention, the show nails the feeling, perspective, and anxiety of being a kid.
Although the premise and set up of Game:Play appears to be simple, there are a lot of moving parts under the surface. Each element within the games — shadow puppeteering and improv — contribute to the overall theme. And in the end, the audience is left with the strength of the performance and the characters they journeyed with.
