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by Madeleine Redican and Clara McTeague

Wiggly Dolly, Toronto Fringe Festival, George Ignatieff Theatre, 15 Devonshire Place

July 5-16, 2017

Two performers voicing six hand puppets on a very small puppet stage act out this delightful send-up of old vampire movies with a feminist slant.

Geared to children aged six and up, the show tells of Mr. Slightly, a male chauvinist, who takes two women – clever Catherine and not so clever Elizabeth – to spend the night at a castle owned by Count Sucksyourblood. Mr. Slightly and Elizabeth are so awed by aristocracy, they ignore the count’s suspicious surname, but Catherine thinks she smells a bat.

Adults will enjoy the pastiche of vampire clichés, the show’s self-referentiality and the skill of puppeteers Madeleine Redican and Georgia Fourie. Kids will get caught up in the story and laugh at the silly jokes and physical comedy.

The play doesn’t preach feminism. Instead, it lets the audience infer that since Mr. Slightly is hilariously wrong about everything else, his views on women must also be suspect.

Show length: 45 min.

©Christopher Hoile

Note: A version of this review appeared in NOW Magazine on July 6, 2017.

Photo: Elizabeth and the Count. ©2017 Georgia Fourie.

For tickets, visit https://fringetoronto.com.