Little Orange Man
The story of a young girl, her abiding love for her Grandfather, and the powers of imagination, is told with inspired lunacy in a blend of song, stories and puppetry (carrots, bread, celery and her own face are just some of the items Hansen employs) culminating in a Peter Pan-like act of audience participation and a moment of theatrical magic by Hansen so beautiful, effective and heart-wrenching one could feel the entire audience hold it’s breath in a collective silent gasp.
Little Orange Man (LOM) is without a doubt Hansen’s show to make or break, and she is more than equal to the task. She brings it to life infusing it with a level of commitment that is beautiful to watch. Hansen doesn’t merely become the little girl Gitte/Kitt but instead she becomes her entire world (I don’t know of another way to put it.)
She is Gitte/Kitt, a puppeteer, and a furry Hippopotamus professor of all the “-ologies”, her grandfather and more.
LOM flies through its 70-some minutes with the manic energy and logic of a child, barely stopping for breath (although there are apologies for burps and very mild swearing) and as an audience you have a choice. Go with it or be left far behind.
Two areas that could benefit from a little work.
Firstly, occasionally Hansen becomes inaudible, if she could both raise her volume and enunciation slightly during moments of especially frenetic behaviour it would benefit the show tremendously. (I know children don’t often enunciate well, and I didn’t ever feel lost in the story, but sections did occasionally disappear, the script is so good I felt I wanted every word.)
Secondly and more importantly, two of the latter songs seem too mature for the young Gitte/Kitt; it feels as if Hansen/Greenfield have for a moment hijacked the show because there is something they want to say. The “voice” of the show, so consistently Gitte/Kitt, changes for a few moments. The songs are both good, and I see the reason for including them, they just need to be a bit more naïve.
That said, LOM and Ingrid Hansen are without doubt two of the best things this years Fringe has to offer. I urge you to see them while you can!
(If I may offer one more comment, LOM would make a kick-ass double bill with GIANT INVISIBLE ROBOT. There is a lovely mirror in their titles, but more, there are like yin & yang, each is about a child in distress and the child’s unique solution to that distress, and the power – indeed the reality – of imagination.)