Life-changing moment or entertainment?

The figure performance Transport: Departure reminds us how easy it is to lose everything you love and own.

Earlier this week I had a conversation that gave me another wrinkle in my brain, it was about bad reviews. My friend told me that she doesn't read reviews to know what the reviewer thinks or feels, she wants the reviewer to evaluate the work based on the goal it is trying to achieve. Agree or not, I haven't been able to stop thinking about what she said now that I'm reviewing Transport: Departure . 

The performance is a drama documentary and puppet show about the Fužir family from the municipality of Prevalje in Slovenia. In August 2023, there were large-scale floods. The play takes us through an ordinary day at the Fužir family's house before they unfortunately lose their home in the flood. 

Departure is also Ljubljana Puppet Theatre's contribution to the larger project Transport . The project is a collaboration between six theatres in Europe, each of which has created puppet shows with the theme of sustainability.

A very pleasant experience

I watched Transport: Departure on June 4th Kloden theater. Outside it was lightly raining and unusually cold for a summer day. Inside we sat in horseshoes around the stage and there were fewer than 30 people in the audience. On the stage there were two tables, behind them a screen hung on the wall and scattered around were sets hidden in the darkness. Throughout the play you could hear audio recordings of grandfather and grandmother Fužir telling us about the house that collapsed, while the puppet show played. Afterwards we saw pictures of the Fužir family's house before and after the flood, the puppeteers also supplemented with more information about the flood in Slovenia.  

Throughout the play I was constantly captivated by the technical aspects, the way they moved the puppets, pulled down the trees and the highly detailed puppet house. The puppeteers did a great job of making the puppets feel alive. It was like watching a stop-motion film instead of traditional puppetry.

The political does not emerge

What annoys me is that the true story of the Fužir family felt more like entertainment than a life-changing moment. The purpose of Transport: Departure , according to the website, was to make the audience reflect on man-made climate change. Now that it's been a while, I'm not entirely sure if it achieved that goal. It felt more like the house collapsed because they built it in the wrong place, not because of a climate catastrophe. After the play, I feel more sorry for the family than ashamed or terrified of climate change. I think the play would have been more effective as a social critique if they had continued the story after the flood and included the perspectives of others who were affected by it. 

This puppet show was well done, had an important theme and a very cozy atmosphere. But it's a shame that the tragic and political aspects of the flood didn't come across fully.