Gorgeous puppets bring tale of kuaka to life

The Boy With Wings. Story, script, design and puppet/prop making, Bridget and Roger Sanders. Music, Roger Sanders. Codirectors, Daniel Allan and Birdlife Productions. BATS Theatre. Reviewed by Sonya Stewart

The delightfully clumsy Professor Beatrice Bartholomew (Bridget Sanders) is here to talk to us about the kuaka/bartailed godwit.

Technically challenged, her enthusiasm and passion for these marvellous birds who travel from New Zealand to Alaska for breeding and back is infectious.

One kuaka particularly special to the Professor is EB53, who she has been tracking on her yearly migration of up to 30,000 miles. Part of Ma¯ ori mythology, the kuaka were seen as mysterious birds who were a signal of the arrival of spring.

Kua kite te kohanga kuaka?

Who has seen the nest of the kuaka? Ko wai ka kite I te hua o te kuaka? Who has ever held the egg of the kuaka? Interwoven with her lecture is the tale of Jack, a young man trying to save his dry and dying apple trees. Visited in a dream by his great granny, she tells him to follow his heart, look for the ‘‘boy with wings’’ and Jack will find his treasure. So off he goes on an adventure through oceans and deserts, cities and bridges, prisons and personal realisations.

Bridget and Roger Sanders have crafted gorgeous puppets, sets and songs to bring this tale to life. Using different scales and puppets (table top, shadow and hand), they have created beautiful castelets made from moving boxes that unfold and take us to new and beautiful crafted locations.

Serenaded by a troubadour (Roger Sanders) on classical guitar, songs on ‘‘how will I know’’ and ‘‘there’s something calling you’’ relate to both story threads and entranced audience members.

It was a short run at BATS but, as the show is tour-ready for schools, theatres and festivals, hopefully you and any kids in your life will get a chance to see it.

Informative and magical, it gets its messages across without being preachy.

The Sanders are skilled performers, who have created a charming and enlightening tale to show the audience the wonder of these fascinating birds and their instinctual journey.