Centuries of folk tales which challenge our contemporary view of wolves are brought to life in this charming puppetry-based work.
A Wolf Shall Devour The Sun is a neatly formed two-hander which takes audiences on a journey through ancient stories ranging from Siberia to western Ireland, all looking at how our perceptions of wolves perhaps say more about us than we recognise.
Leading the production is narrator Dougie Mackay, whose understated style is warm and inviting, and leans well into the storytelling nature of the piece. Mackay’s narration draws you in, calmly building the world of each story. Meanwhile, Jemima Thewes’s puppetry work and her exceptional musicality frame each narrative. Thewes is a gifted musician, and she even combines this with onstage shadow puppetry in a clear example of the creative efforts displayed here.
While the narration threads the show together, it is the enchantingly intricate puppetry which transports us into the magical worlds, albeit more in the first two stories than the third. Nevertheless, it is an impressive combination of theatricality, where shadow puppetry, animation, gorgeous lighting and a stirring collection of folk songs all unite to quickly frame the stories and bring both the ancient humans and their wolf counterparts to life.
The stories are rich in mythology, beginning with the Norse gods and the links with Loki, before moving around northern and western Europe, interrogating our complicated relationship with wolves. It is a well-formed, impressively delivered concept, but one that also is ambitious in its delivery of ideas. This is not just a show about preserving wolves, but also one about female agency, mother-daughter relationships and the importance of community spirit. The wolf, here, is also aligned with Gaelic culture, with a deft comparison made between the culling of the animals and the failed Jacobite revolution. In this sense, the show works well not just to explore how other cultures view the animals, but how importantly they should be seen in Scotland too.
The gentle nature of the performance, leaning on the beauty of the creatures rather than the stereotypical theatre, means this is an enchanting family show.
