“That was so colourful! Peter was so mean, he’s not a good friend to the others. I liked the flying balloons too! I’d like to see that again” – Hazel (5ys old)

Laser Beak Man had colour, intrigue, music, drama, heroes, villains… oh and an invisible lamb.

It was a fusion of the good, the bad, the indifferent and the misunderstood.

Characters in this larger-than-life story adopted stereotypical personas within our society, creatively portrayed through wonderfully crafted puppets and their exceptional puppeteers.

So much coordination would be required to execute a flawless performance.

I was in constant awe of the set, the story, the performance and equally the mechanics behind it to make it come to life.

We really liked the use of the entire theatre as the performance, giving an immersive experience as part of the story happening on stage.

The band bridged the scenes beautifully and the cheeky one-liners gave parents and some kids a good chuckle.

Definitely a show worth going along to; Tim Sharp’s story is fun, clever and creative.

A show pitched at an audience predominantly aged 7 – 10 years, which runs for 85 minutes with no interval is going to need to be very engaging.

Laser Beak Man was exactly that and more.

At a glance, it was a puppet show delivered with great skill, humour and technical prowess.

On a deeper level, the components of this performance combine brilliantly.

This was the essence to keeping those younger members of the audience fixed on the action.

There was great music written and performed by Sam Cromack and members of his Brisbane-based indie band, Ball Park Music.

Also, the very visually engaging and effective cartoon style projections, on screens both in front of and behind the puppet action, based on artist Tim Sharp’s drawings, made for scene changes which were seamless and easy to follow.

With special effects in the form of overhead drones, and of course the puppet mastery of this tight team of performers and clever puppet fabrication, made for one heck of a show.

As is often the case, dialogue written for a younger audience often holds a deeper meaning more perceptible to the mature audience (think Shrek and Madagascar to name just two).

The writers of Laser Beak Man often provided clever puns, literal representations based on Tim Sharp’s very clever drawings, and witty one-liners.

One criticism I would have was the unnecessary ‘politicising ’ of certain characters, which indeed fell flat with this Australian audience, and further to this was the confusing combination of American/Australian accents and idioms.

This may be the result of writers Nick Paine and David Morton living across both Australian and US locations.

In the main, this show was an absolute delight.

Puppeteer Jon Riddleberger brought to life the otherwise ‘invisible’ Black Sheep.

Maren Earle’s Evil Emily was so sweetly delivered.

This show was 85 minutes of total immersion.

Not one stand-out performer.

All of the cast blended together seamlessly to bring the story of Laser Beak Man to life.

The skill of the puppeteers to become their puppets was incredible to watch.

The band was a lovely touch I hadn’t seen done before but helped to really make the story connect with the audience.

The artwork was wonderful and helped to really hit the punchlines.

I brought three children along to the show, (12, 8, 6).

They all loved it and followed the story.

My middle child finding the play on words hilarious – she loves the sea (c) monster!

The eldest and I both loved the storyline and the relevant connections with the world at the moment displayed in a subtle and comedic manner (a wall built to keep out those that are other, for example).

My youngest enjoyed the performance but struggled to understand most of the humour.

He followed the storyline and his heart almost broke at one point through the show but couldn’t grasp the brilliance in this performance yet – too young to fully appreciate the play on words – yet telling me that he really wants to watch it again.

Definitely a must-see!

Once the live band began playing its opening notes, it drew the audience straight in.

Teamed with bright visual backgrounds and an amazing array of voiced puppets controlled by experienced puppeteers, it had the eyes flitting from one spectacle to another.

The younger audience members seemed mesmerised by all what was going on, especially when drones flew in, hovering above the audience and up to the stage.

I loved all the above.

However, I found the storyline rather mundane and drawn out in lots of places which made me wish the band, including vocalist and guitar/keyboard player from local band Ball Park Music, resume their upbeat music and singing.

Excellent to see Brisbane talent being used in this production, plus loved the fact they were all dressed in matching overalls which added to the ‘superhero’ theme.

I, along with the rest of the audience, enjoyed the show because of the cleverness of the puppeteers to successfully bring the puppets to life resulting a funnier and more entertaining show.

I also enjoyed the band’s vocalist as I thought his voice matched the show.

I especially liked the audiovisuals because it gave puppets a greater balance.

I also liked the “floating orbs” and this was clever and cool for the younger audience.

Overall, I rate this 7/10

For kids (and kids at heart) this interesting piece of puppetry is sure to intrigue and delight audiences.

To fully appreciate this performance, I highly recommend some research into how Laser Beak Man came to be and how it helped Tim Sharp and his mother Judy Sharp tackle and grow through autism.

Laser Beak Man is a hero story and follows your usual villain vs. superhero plot.

A cast of seven lead puppets of numerous sizes, shapes and characteristics on a journey through, friendship, understanding, acceptance and saving the day from evil!

All relevant and easily understandable themes to their younger targeted audiences.

The cast you could not fault.

Their characters and movements were impeccably delivered and it was mesmerising to see inanimate objects truly come to life.

The set itself was colourful and crazy, an animation of Tim’s own work.

I truly loved it, however, I feel like the puppets sometimes got a bit lost in the projections.

The show also used a few different ways to immerse the audience beyond the stage, such as floating objects, etc. which were well received.

The highlight of the show was the music from the boys of Ball Park Music.

They were exceptional!

I have to admit I am a huge fan and Sam Cromack literally did knock this one out of the Ball Park.

His voice had me hung up on every lyric wanting more and more.

They were written into the script and acknowledged as something more than just a vocalist and band in the background.

Though with all the positives do come a few negatives.

For me, I personally felt the show dragged on in certain sections and I feel like it definitely could’ve been written a bit more ‘better’ (I know, terrible word to use).

It was easy to follow but could’ve been written to be a little bit more challenging for younger minds and a bit more engaging.

But other than that, phenomenal performance!

What a creative and fun show!

The kids all followed along with the story well and loved having things fly in from above us and rain things down on us!

As an adult, I really enjoyed the story and the messages it sent.

It was a really enjoyable experience and I think the puppets and video production were absolutely amazing!

Loved having a live band as part of it too.

It was a bit difficult to see some of it from the back of the theatre but other than that it was a really great show!

Lior, 7:

I liked how some of the puppet pieces (like the lasers) lit up, and that the background video would do the explosion at the same time! I do think that the puppets should be a little bit bigger. We were at the back and it was hard to see. I really liked the story and the moral to share and that we can all be heroes. The idea was really good. My favourite character was the black sheep.

Eli, 5:

My favourite part of the show was when the guy turns into Laser Beak Man. I think the puppets were well made. Some were fun, and some were silly. My favourite character was Laser Beak Man.

Ahava, 3:

My favourite character was Laser Beak Man. Because he’s a superhero.