FRINGE 2015: Oni

Do you find tentacles arousing? Does the thought of paper puppets doing the nasty excite you? If so, then Oni’s the show for you!

Oni is a wildly erotic Japanese shadow puppet show made by the Mochinosha Puppet Company. Daniel Wishes and Seri Yanai jointly transform Studio CirQus into the Japanese countryside by using only handmade puppets, colored paper and a projector! The pair work directly in front of the projector, allowing the audience to see them hard at work as they create an unforgettable experience.

This sexy shadow show is all about the tale of Issun-boshi, a three-centimeter-tall samurai whose greatest talent is his amazing storytelling ability. Seri narrates Issun-boshi’s adventures in Japanese, while Daniel provides his own sassy English translation of what’s happening.

Seri and Daniel have amazing on-stage chemistry and were very entertaining storytellers: the former seemed very innocent and coy during the performance, while the latter schmoozed the audience with awkward yet smooth compliments.

What I loved most about Oni was how much fun this dynamic duo were having during the performance. They worked together to tell a very funny, yet kinky story; and yet they were very self-aware throughout the show.

Watching them interact with each other was almost more entertaining than the story itself! Daniel would sometimes put himself in front of the projector and use different parts of his body to interact with the shadow puppets. At one point, Daniel placed his arm in front of the projector so that Seri could pretend it was a mountain for her puppet to climb.

As Seri’s paper figurine walked on top of Daniel, Seri gleefully exclaimed, “What a hairy mountain!”

This play is full of wonder and possibility. Seri’s paper puppets are very simple, but have small, carefully-added details that are very appealing to the eyes. Despite not having an elaborate set or huge budget, Seri and Daniel were able to create a deep and fully-fleshed out universe. Oni’s simplicity was elegant, and demonstrated that you don’t need to be over-the-top to achieve theatrical excellence. And of course, it was so much fun to watch!

So much love was put into Oni that it is almost impossible for me to criticize it.

This was just so enjoyable to watch. All of the characters were silly and whimsical and easy to like! Seri and Daniel never took themselves too seriously, and even though the show wasn’t profoundly cerebral, it was very clever and purely delightful. I especially enjoyed Seri’s hardcore recorder solo of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”.

Seri Yanai and Daniel Wishes will leave you gasping and begging for more post-Oni, and post-Fringe! They have a brand new show called Debris at the Ottawa Fringe Festival.

To keep up with the Mochinosha Puppet Company‘s latest projects, like them on Facebook.

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Patricia Petit Liang is part of CJLO’s Official Fringe Team covering the sights and sounds from the 2015 St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival.

She also hosts Fatal Attraction every Sunday morning from 11am – 12pm, only on 1690AM in Montreal and online at CJLO.com. Follow her show Tumblr, at @fatalattraction1690am