The Lichtenstein Nursing Home Massacre

Oh, dear. The Lichtenstein Nursing Home Massacre harbours dreams of being a goth-comedic puppetry epic, and gets off to a good start with a solid first ten minutes. Unfortunately, this murder mystery tale from the Lemony S Puppet Theatre Company fails to deliver, and becomes an incomprehensible drudge. It all seems so promising at the beginning – the cardboard set is a marvel, the puppet characters are introduced to the audience in a charming title sequence and the opening scenes, featuring the first of the production's (many) murders and a beautifully executed late-night driving sequence, are good fun. From there, unfortunately, nothing quite goes right. Opening nights always have a couple of SNAFUs, although in the case of The Lichtenstein Nursing Home Massacre, the amount of puppetry and set movements going awry seemed disproportionately high. The excessively convoluted plot is almost impossible to follow, especially for those sitting in less-than-prime seats. The puppets' performance windows are small, and audience members not seated in the centre of the theatre were often unable to see large chunks of whole scenes – a particular problem given that the production is largely non-verbal. Props that form the basis of key plot points are so small and indistinct that they couldn't be identified from the fifth row of the venue. There's no doubt that the team behind this production have a taste for Tim Burton-esque flair, but The Lichtenstein Nursing Home Massacre unfortunately lacks substance behind its promising veneer.

Running at La Mama Courthouse until Sunday 7 October