Whales

See it if You absolutely love everything that Pig Pen does. This is not their best.

Don't see it if With kids. Not that kind of puppet theater.

See it if You want to support a young company with a lot of energy & spirit, and you enjoy participative theatre and shadow puppets. Good music, too.

Don't see it if You don't enjoy participative theatre including games, or wouldn't enjoy a long trek to Brooklyn for an hour long show.

Also This theatre company seemed to really put a lot of energy and effort into this production, and I enjoyed the music and the shadow puppets together with the live actors. However, I didn't get much out of the "game" or the other participative parts of the show. I'm not sure that was the best way to tell the story.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to experience an interactive adaptation of Moby Dick with punk rock and remarkable projection work

Don't see it if you dislike audience interaction, want to experience a straightforward adaptation of the source material, or want a cohesive product.

Also The concepts at the core of this show are brilliant. Mobdy Dick, inventive shadow puppetry and projection work, and punk. But unfortunately these elements are bound together by a string of party games that just don't function the way the company wants them to. Explaining the lay system in the style of a gameshow is clever and unique, but the charm wears out pretty quickly and it ultimately contributes to the show's uneven tone.

The audience wasn't aware that the evening was going to be participatory so as a result most people felt caught off guard.

The shadow puppetry and projections as a whole are truly remarkable. In many places they are downright brilliant. The music is great. But interspersing the punk rock narrative with party games simply doesn't work. Now, the scene in which the size of the whale is explained via rope is fantastic and fits the tone of the narrative perfectly fine. It would be an amazing show if they simply focused on telling a badass story with badass music.... Read more Read less

See it if You live in Brooklyn (or visit regularly) - you want a light hearted night out You are in the mood for performance (not theater )

Don't see it if You are looking for theater,or you are traveling from the suburbs or Northern Manhattan

Also Whales is a series of performance pieces and games - the group is very engaging & treat the audience well - there are folk & rock & roll instrumentals to set tone, there is creative light puppetry there is drinking, there is a good time had by all & you learn about the capitalist enterprise of whaling

The venue is a small performance space / bar in a yet to be gentrified corner of Brooklyn - off the M train.

This is fun but not worth a 90 + minute hike in both directions

Great for younger Brooklyn twenty & young thirty somethings... Read more Read less

See it if You want to laugh and learn. Like Ted Talks (aka this seemed more like a history lesson to me with some laughs than a narrative)

Don't see it if You want something that follows the plot of Moby Dick or hate audience participation.

Also I am a history buff so this was right up my alley but I was expecting a bit more of a storyline.... Read more Read less

See it if adventure, sea faring punk/shanties, informational gameshow drinking games with giant dice, creatively minimal shadowPuppet theatre thrill u

Don't see it if garage band sound, an actual garage as venue, audience participation, tattoos, shadow puppets, drinkingGames, slaughter of whales bother you

See it if You want to learn about human treatment of whales or enjoy educational theatre. This is social activism art at its most creative!

Don't see it if You like a larger theatre space and don't particularly care for animal abuse. There's a lot of wonderful audience interaction as well!

See it if you appreciate imaginative fun & obscure info. 40 seats allows cast to communicate one to one with audience members. Free tattoo & alcohol

Don't see it if you need a plot, a themed variety show. The audience as the crew of a whaling ship is invited to roll giant dice determining their adventure

See it if You're looking for something fun, entertaining and interactive

Don't see it if You want something that holds closely to the plot of Moby Dick, you're wanting something family-friendly

See it if You want to see a puppet musical in a fun and easy-going atmosphere; you want to learn about 19th century whaling practices.

Don't see it if You will be put off by excitement about killing whales; you hate pop-punk, people drinking alcohol, or audience participation.

Also The show is super uneven. It drifts back and forth between underscored shadow puppetry, songs that range from a cappella sea shanties to punk rock ballads, and informational audience-participation game show-style games. TBH, the actual story of Moby Dick is barely present underneath these things, which was a pretty big disappointment for me. With that said, when we did get a song, it was pretty delightful! But each time, the show then lost all momentum by going into informational games. I was never sure why we were being told all about whaling. I was much more interested in being told a real story through puppetry and song, and less interested in how big the whales are and how/why they were killed. The thing that really put me off was the excitement everyone seemed to derive from the idea of killing whales. They hardly engaged with the inhumanity of the process, and when they did, it was not very effectual; I cried about it later. Overall, I had a fun time though.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see an energetic and playful performance that engages an audience to the play, making everybody laugh and participate.

Don't see it if you are boring :) you are looking for a traditional theater experience.

Also From the first seconds of entering the premise, we sensed that's gonna be a good one. We laughed and enjoyed every minute of the show + we really learned something new. "Visual effects" were very cool and clever, actors great, approach and unconventionality of the play made it a great experience all along. Hip Hip Hurray!... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see something fun and different.

Don't see it if you do not like interactive theater or have a hard time hearing the details of whale hunting.

See it if you like interactive theater. The cast interacts with the audience making each show unique.

Don't see it if you don't like interactive theater.

See it if You enjoy learning and laughing.

Don't see it if You don't enjoy creative storytelling.

See it if like puppet theater for Adults, and immersive theater experiences.

Don't see it if don't like audience participation.

See it if You like social activism art! Equally as entertaining as it is educational, Whales immerses the entire audience in the show's environment.

Don't see it if You don't like edgier, purposeful shows. There's not a linear plot, rather talented actors performing hilarious veignettes.

See it if You want to be fully immersed in an experience of singing, acting, shadow puppetry, live music, games and education

Don't see it if You're looking for a quiet evening show that does not involve audience participation, music and drinking games

See it if You like low-budget shows with inventive storytelling and audience participation... and GROG!

Don't see it if If you don't like seat of your pants experimental theatre.