Review of 'The Bench': Danish puppetry in world class, that's 'The Bench' - the new performance from Teater Reflektion in Aarhus, Denmark. It is an aesthetic and poetic - it is a comical and loving - performance. And it is a major export product. Reflektion's puppet theater is performed between 70 and 100 times a year worldwide. Well done.

There is 5 stars to 'The Bench' for being fun and human-loving. The puppet theater is about being human, and at the beginning of life that happens to us as a child. You are not very tall, and you are constantly experiencing joys and sorrows, things you can do and also sometimes getting into conflicts with others. As children we learn to be social, but only after we have thrown sand at each other's heads or taken each other's toys.

There is a bench in a park. A dog comes sniffing. It rummages through an overturned trash can and pees on it. The audience laughs because it moves its head and body so lifelike. A lovely thief, that dog is, overwhelming happy to all people it bumps into.

The body language of the puppets is impressive, thanks to the design and the puppeteers. There are no spoken words in the play, but you can see what the characters are thinking and feeling when they wave something away with the gesture of a hand or sadly bend down and look under a bench. There are birds around the bench. A grandmother with knitting and an old man with a newspaper. A young boy with a skateboard. There is life around that bench, and everyone wants to sit on that bench.

And that's how it is to be human. One of the first things we learn is to occypy the necessary space around us and take a seat.
- I was here first!
- It's my bench!

And the next thing we learn:
- It's my toy!
- It's mine!

The third thing we learn is to become good friends, so there is room for everyone. 'The Bench' tells the story of becoming social through developing compassion, - and that it's okay to tease each other.

The story was written by Sven Ørnø. Sound and music were created by Andreas Sandborg and Jacob Venndt. Rebekah Caputo and Neasa Ní Chuanaigh manage the puppets. Bjarne Sandborg has directed. Take your children by the hand and buy a ticket. The humor and love in the play is just as good regardless of your age. And you still know the theme as an adult.

- Hey, this is my parking spot!
- Stop, it's my bike!
What we learned as children is still valid as an adult.

Many thanks to Teater Refleksion for the experience.

The bench
Cast Rebekah Caputo, Neasa Ní Chuanaigh
Manuscript Sven Ørnø
Instruction Bjarne Sandborg
Music/sound design Andreas Sandborg, Jacob Venndt
Lighting design Morten Ladefoged
Scenography/puppets Amanda Axelsen Sigaard
Workshop/technique Morten Meilvang Laursen, William Højberg Nielsen.

Teater review