Puffs

This zany satire on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter saga must, with its constantly moving sets, unrelenting pace, number of characters, and range of magical events, challenge any company of players.  Yet it must also delight those who participate in it.  Its language and plot cleverly subvert the events of the Harry Potter series even as they reveal additional depths in the background to those events.  And its characters, almost all familiar to Potter fans, were even zanier and unexpectedly funny in painting the experience of those whose roles at Hogwarts consisted of being nearly good enough: the Puffs.

To a theatre company composed largely of young actors, the play obviously poses an even greater challenge.  And having no big budget with which to create magical effects must of course limit the magic.  But Echo Youth’s cast of 15 young players, tackling 57 roles with immense energy, pulled it off as well as you could hope for.  Dressed in an astonishing array of costumes and using a good supply of props on a simple but versatile set, the characters practically flew through seven years in the esteemed Potter’s company to bring us the reality of life in the house of Puff.

Unfortunately many lines were lost that might have been clearer had they been delivered with less gusto and more slowly. Despite this, the performance’s spirit, energy, sheer exuberance, and humour carried it through.

Certain performers stood out in certain roles.  James Morgan, Sally Taylor, and Darcy Gowland struck me as most convincing in playing respectively the down-to-earth mathematically gifted Oliver; Myrtle, ghost of the female bathrooms; and A Certain Potions Teacher.  All the players otherwise exhibited strengths and promise that, with careful development and voice discipline, will doubtless result in some rising stars.

John P. Harvey

Image: [L–R] James Morgan and Darcy Gowland, in Puffs.  Credit: Photox.