Blue Elephant Theatre – 13 February 2020
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
3.5***
Playing as part of Blue Elephant Theatre’s Elephantology festival showcasing the work of recent graduates, Noot Patoot is a work in progress devised in just 3 days by Natalie Patuzzo.
Tapping into the shared nostalgia of primary school, Patuzzo riffs on shared memories of universal school traditions, from a squirm inducing sports day race to the glorious knowledge that your ability to do amazing things on playground equipment brings you legendary status at school. Patuzzo is a charming and engaging performer, capturing the naive certainty and affectation of schoolchildren brilliantly. Her interactions with the audience are sweet, with a brutal twist that only a child could drop in out of nowhere.
The mysterious power of the paper chattering is explored, before it’s messages of inspiration morph into a hilarious puppet serenade, and Patuzzo’s physical comedy skills are showcased as she attempts to use her phone without teachers noticing.
The ridiculous urban myths shared as definite truths at sleepovers pop up with wide eyed, doom-laden delivery channelling Patuzzo’s inner tweenie. Beginning and ending at a school disco, with a glorious gimmick to immediately involve and immerse the audience, and a final group dance that proved that certain things don’t change as the majority of the audience attempted to dance around the edges, with only a few brave enough to be centre stage.
Noot Patoot is full of charming and silly ideas, performed with natural mischievous style. With more time to develop a more structured transition between sketches that manages to retain the charming childlike chaos, this promising show could develop into something special.