Malasombra

Sometimes the best ideas are the shortest ones, which must make it frustrating when standard formats such as the hour-or-so theatre slot come into play. Unfortunately, Malasombra seems to be a victim to this convention of timing: stunning in its ideas and design, but drawn out so slowly as to dampen the spark and drama out of an otherwise cleverly conceived show.

Spanish-Chilean company auMents has teamed up with award-winning cartoonist Max to tell the tale of evil Mr Malasombra - a pointy-fingered, elegantly villainous figure who likes to kidnap people’s shadows and put them to work in his factories. All the feel of a Tim Burton fairytale is here, from the bold pixie shape of the protagonist little girl, to the thick shadow trees and steampunk factory. The lines of the shadow screen shapes are crisp and jagged; perspectives are played with to nice effect when Mr Malasombra swoops larger than life, then shrinks again, swinging his tiny shadow-catching cage.

But none of this can make up for the lackadaisical pace and repetitive choreography. Characters give us the same gestures over and over again. Confrontations are dragged out with the same robotic actions. Sure, clockwork mannerisms are supposed to be part of the style, but the danger is zapped when we know the hammer isn’t making contact with the body. If it had been whipped into a ten minute sketch, Malasombra could have been a brilliant dark storm. As it is, it feels more like a persistent raincloud.