PRESS REVIEWS FOR BUNK PUPPETS

“One of the greatest innovations in shadow puppetry” - The Scotsman ✭✭✭✭ Swamp Juice

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 17:42:58 +0800

There can surely be no shadow puppets quite as expressive as those made by Canadian clown and puppeteer Jeff Achtem from bits of cardboard, junk and fabric in his shed.
Following last year's Sticks, Stones and Broken Bones, Jeff returns to the Fringe with a new collection of his lovable Bunk Puppets and this time - through what must be one of the greatest innovations in shadow puppetry - part of it is performed in 3D. "Avatar, eat your heart out," says Jeff.
Set in a swamp, filled with little (and some large) creatures, it follows the journey of a scheming man determined to catch his flighty nemesis, Birdie, who is always one step ahead of him. Like Wile E Coyote and Road Runner, they care about one another more than they might let on.
From a washing line filled with what appears to be bits of rubbish, Jeff throws together his unusual characters and their offbeat world with all of the wry humour and cross-generational appeal of the best kind of animated films.
As well as impressively manning the whole ever-moving production all on his own, he incorporates bits of his body into the action; his hair becomes some foliage for a snail to eat and his thumb the jabbering mouths of his protagonists. Even their eyeballs move, though I still can't quite work out how.
One of the most satisfying parts of the show is seeing Jeff make his creations, which look like impersonal bits of glued together rubbish in real life, but become empathetic and fully-formed characters once their shadows are projected onto the screens.
The final 3D section of the show is stunning and has all of the novelty of a "real" 3D movie, but ten times the charm.
An underwater scene, in which the audience become the swaying plants and reeds, across which the characters swim, makes for a stunning finale that is so much more than you would ever imagine shadow puppetry could be. Both old and young audience members were left gasping in amazement.
- Sally Stott for the Scotsman , Edinburgh Fringe -- Aug 2011.
To read the original review on-line, click HERE.

“Puppetry like you’ve never seen it before” - Edinburgh Festivals magazine ✭✭✭✭✭ Swamp Juice

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:59:24 +0800

If you see any show this Fringe, make sure it is Swamp Juice: to miss it would be a crying shame. Born of the exquisitely inventive mind of Canadian Jeff Achtem, this tale of swamp creatures and their mischievous schemes and escapades, is shadow puppetry like you’ve never seen it before. I challenge even the hardest bitten cynic not to find their inner child resurrected by an hour in Jeff’s company.
 In his capable hands, bric-a-brac and seemingly defunct objects take on a new lease of life, as they are crafted into the most captivating and curious characters. We encounter all manner of beasts, but the crucial pair is the grouchy old man and the exotic ‘Birdie’ who is continually foiling his attempts to capture her.   The story of Birdie and the old man’s adventure in the swamp is lucidly told and heart-warming to watch. The 3D finale is the absolute highlight of the show and beggars belief as we follow these characters underwater and through the air, dodging jellyfish and aircraft as we go. This is brilliantly magical entertainment for the whole family. Do yourself a favour and get a ticket now - you won’t regret it.
✭✭✭✭✭
- Amiel Clarke- Edinburgh Festivals Magazine, Edinburgh Fringe- Aug 2011.
To read the original review on-line, click HERE.

“gasps of wonder and amazement” - Edinburgh spotlight ✭✭✭✭✭ Swamp Juice

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:47:49 +0800

Canadian puppeteer and clown Jeff Achtem may have grown up but he never stopped playing. But these days his childlike imagination wins him the acclaim of critics and the adoration of audiences around the world.
Achtem’s style appears deceptively low-fi, with the puppets created from recognisable bits of junk often visibly held together with string and tape. However this DIY ethos is belied by the technical intricacy of Achtem’s show. Often employing all four limbs and even his head, this is clearly a finely honed production.
Achtem had a sleeper hit with last year’s sleeper hit ‘Sticks, Stones, Broken Bones’, but he has clearly upped his ante. The previous show was a series of vignettes, the puppets expressive yet rough and often created onstage (an aspect sadly but understandably missing from ‘Swamp Juice’), apparently the work of a unique artists testing the waters. This hour-long narrative features more technically refined puppets (whilst retaining the original ethos) and even a hint of character development.
The much-lauded 3D finale evokes spontaneous gasps of wonder from the packed audience, and the participatory sequence has even the most jaded adults clamouring to join in. As with last year’s show, the behind-the-scenes contortions Achtem uses to bring his puppets to life are almost as entertaining as the story itself. And his onstage clowning is both the perfect transition between acts and a reassuring presence for any nervous children in the audience.
This show is suitable for children, but don’t let them have all the fun. ‘Swamp Juice’ brings out the child in everyone
- Julie Dawson for Edinburgh Spotlight, Edinburgh Fringe -- Aug 2011.
To read the original review on-line, click HERE.

“Lo-fi visual invention” - The Stage (edinburgh) Swamp Juice

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:31:34 +0800

Jeff Achtem’s lovingly crafted piece of puppet theatre is an exercise in lo-fi visual invention. He has created a whole little world seemingly from bits of cardboard and tinsel and string. The puppets themselves have a charmingly cobbled together quality and when back-lit he is able to create an incredibly intricate shadow narrative on a screen to one side of the stage.
It’s hard to do justice to quite how impressive and entertaining this all is.
The piece is nearly wordless and yet Achtem sculpts a watery world of birds and snails and killer fish – it’s refreshing in the way it avoids cutesiness too – this a world where animals bite and fight and even, sometimes, gobble each other up.
Achtem himself is an endearingly mumbling presence, looking aptly amphibious in waistcoat and leggings and warning the audience about imminent ‘scary’ bits.  The piece ends with a dazzling home-made 3D sequence which had the younger members of the audience (and a few of the older ones) squealing in delight.
He gets the whole room involved in creating an underwater sequence and it’s hard to imagine an age group that this wouldn’t appeal to, except perhaps for the youngest of children. A real treat.
- Natasha Tripney for The Stage.co.uk , Edinburgh Fringe -- Aug 16, 2011
To read the original review on-line, click HERE.

“gripping and technically marvellous!” - Three Weeks (edinburgh) ✭✭✭✭✭ Swamp Juice

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:24:09 +0800

“Caravaggio meets Pixar” is the clearest way I can describe Jeff Achtem, the genius shadow-puppeteer from Montreal. A monochrome master of light and dark, his whimsical narratives carry the audience on a surging wave of surprised laughter as he presents a series of interlinked wordless vignettes, each one better than the last.
The spectacular climax to his show practically stretches the bounds of credibility as he drags shadows off the screen into the third dimension; his 3D jellyfish projection had the audience screaming in delighted fear as tentacles flicked towards them.
A high-speed chase through the sky is both gripping and technically marvellous, resulting in absorbing fun. ‘Swamp Juice’ is magical and brilliantly idiosyncratic, a definite must-see.
Underbelly, 4 – 28 Aug (not 15), 2.00pm (3.00pm), £10.00 – £11.00 tw rating 5/5
✭✭✭✭✭
- Three Weeks magazine, Edinburgh Fringe -- Aug 16, 2011
To read the original review on-line, click HERE.