Puddles and Amazons

Kate Bush and Napolean Dynamite had a love child, and he's performing this batsy crazy show. He makes carrying this narrative and a skillful use of tech (which gratefully does not dominate) look easy - which is the craft. Bushamite is onto something, great things ahead. I'd love to see his twist on Beckett. Worth it: this is what the Fringe is for.

This show defies easy categorisation. It's part fairytale, part allegory, part technical demonstration, part collaborative performance. What it certainly is is charming.

It's also the sort of show that lives or dies by its performer, and Guy is certainly the kind that makes it live. He brings the audience along with him with just the right balance of confidence and self-deprecation, which is what he needs to get the audience to play along with producing the soundscapes for the show. Don't be scared by that, by the way: it really is mild, and the performer is at pains to make the audience feel comfortable throughout.

Above all, it's fun, unpretentious, and moving—and the sort of show I ended up thinking about long after I'd left the room. Definitely catch this if you can in the last few days of the Fringe.

“Puddles and Amazons”
Cleverly employing audio mixing for background sound effects while also frequently using water as a means of creating scenes ranging from the beach to the shower, Guy Woods serves as a master storyteller as he relates the adolescent years leading up to a queer boy’s coming out. A boy whose skin is cold and rough and his taste buds shot due to a boyhood accident lives a life quite secluded even when around others like his bird-watching dad or staring, avoiding kids at school. Shadow play, mild audience aids in the story’s effects, and an arena that becomes ever wetter are all part of the sensitively imparted narrative that sometimes has gaps a bit difficult to fill in for total clarity. The first same-sex kiss is accompanied by a bodily explosion that becomes quite surreal and so over-the-top crazy as to lessen somewhat the story’s overall purpose and impact.
Rating: 4 E

This is an extraordinarily inventive and engaging performance. Genuinely theatrical storytelling, along with fabulous metaphors and a soundscape created during the show, captured everyone's imagination and maintained a remarkable level of intensity throughout. I feel so fortunate to have seen this and will remember it for years.

Go and see this show! Perfectly paced, beautifully performed, amazing use of sound, light and space it’s a treat for all the senses! I’m normally apprehensive about audience participation but without giving anything away it was a genuinely lovely way to be included in the show, I’ve never been so happy to participate. I would highly recommend to anyone.

We had no idea what to expect but this was a great show - quirky, inventive, sad and funny all at once. Loved it!

Charming, funny and clever.
Definitely worth seeing :-)

Witty, Inventive, amusing and warm despite the cold. When the audience help to create the atmosphere and you hear your own voices played back it's the strangest sensation. I hope this show gets the recognition it deserves in a packed fringe.

Endearing, gentle and funny. Guy Woods has the audience in the palm of his hand from the start. The use of live recording is clever and done in a way I've never seen before, and the audience participation is delightful. Every new scene is done with fresh creativity and energy. It's one of those shows you actually don't want to end.

A funny and poignant look at grief, love, and piss thawing its way out of you. Beautiful writing and an engaging performance that my friend and I could not stop raving about for the rest of the day. Guy Woods is so utterly compelling I'd happily buy a ticket to watch him rattle off my shopping list into that loop pedal of his.

Uniquely combines recorded live performance audio with audience interaction and audio to produce a collective piece of theatre. Like nothing I have seen before and completely novel. A perfect fit for experimental Summerhill and definitely worth experiencing!