Años Luz - Spanish Shadow puppetry

The Spanish shadow puppet company Luz Micro y Punto are performing their piece 'Años Luz' in Malta and Gozo as part of the Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture programme.

I love theatre in all its forms and find that we never get enough of it on these islands. So when I saw this event advertised I was intrigued and bought a ticket. Performance times seem to be aimed at an audience of children but the company markets itself as attractive to adults and children alike. And indeed, there were many adults in the audience that did not accompany children to the event and like me, enjoyed the spectacle.

I had gone with expectations evoked by the shadow plays of my childhood. Simple and rudimentary entertainment, often put on by my grandfather with the use of little else but his hands throwing the shadows of various animals onto the garden wall.

Of course, Luz, Micro y Punto's piece was different. It is a delightful mix of music - expertly delivered live on a keyboard - and traditional and contemporary shadow puppetry interspersed with performance art.

There were two screens on the stage, the one on the right transformed into a sort of cabinet of curiosities. Its shelves were full of beautifully shaped bottles holding coloured liquids. When drank, these 'potions' made the performers behave like shadow puppets.

The main screen was used to display the shadows, sometimes in the traditional way with the silhouettes appearing behind the screen, other times being projected onto the screens with the use of overhead projectors. Curiously, this was done in full view of the audience right in front of the screen. We were watching the puppeteers moving paper puppets, foils and colour filters that made the story come alive on the screen. Although this was an interesting process to watch it also took away a bit of the magic of shadow plays. But then again, the young audience belongs to a generation that is brought up on a diet of technology; so who knows, showing them how it is done possibly helps to retain their attention for longer.

Años Luz has gone to Gozo for the weekend and if you hurry you can still catch it on Sunday afternoon in Ghajnsielem.

More information and tickets are available here