Anna Burnside reviews a production ‘full of charm and observation’.
Vanishing Point is one of the most consistently creative and interesting companies working in Scottish - and international - theatres. In Size Matters, part of a short residency at Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre, they use puppets to explore human perceptions before broadening the discussion into what it actually means to be alive.
This show, which is going on to Edinburgh’s Manipulate Festival, has masterful puppetry and some enjoyably meta narrating.
Sunshine and Tangerine - the show’s creator Mamoru Iriguchi and Julia Darrouy - switch sizes with the help of costumes and increasingly small models of themselves.
Sonic effects add to the feeling of Alice in Wonderlanding through different physical dimensions.
Narrator Gavin Pringle adds a comic layer, first appearing as a puppet then stepping out of the shadows to help the audience navigate the mental gymnastics of the central performances.
This is a technically accomplished show, full of charm and observation. What lets it down is the pacing. When it sags, it veers from thoughtful towards introspective and baggy.
The best moments, however, showcase what happens when an inventive storyteller considers what would happen if he was suddenly absolutely enormous. Who doesn’t want to see that?
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Size Matters’ run at Citizens Theatre has concluded. It performs at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, February 5-6, 2026, as part of this year’s Manipulate Festival.
Photo by Tiu Makkonen.
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