Theatre Review: Epidermis Circus and the Baby Tyler Show

Created & Performed by: Ingrid Hansen

Creative Director: Britt Small

Genre: Puppetry, Physical Theatre, Comedy

I’ve seen Epidermis Circus before, along with other shows by Ingrid Hansen, and she remains one of my favourite performers and show creators of all time. She can turn almost anything into a puppet—her hands, clay, socks, gummy bears, plastic cows, even her menstrual pad and underwear—and then film it live onstage to project onto a big screen. Working alone, she handles lighting, camera, and performance in real time, building tiny worlds with unexpected characters and goofy humour. The shows are part puppet, part clown, part lo-fi cinematic magic, and there’s nothing else like them.

Both Epidermis Circus and The Baby Tyler Show ran in French this time, as Ingrid prepares to tour in France, but the language barrier barely mattered. The physical comedy and visual inventiveness carried the meaning. Epidermis Circus even has a loose storyline: Florence (played by Ingrid’s hands) thinks she’s the star, only to discover she’s just the emcee, bitterly introducing each act while Baby Tyler steals the spotlight. The Baby Tyler Show is even looser—a series of increasingly absurd skits—but the energy, creativity, and surprise never dip.

If there’s one thing I might wish for, it’s a bit more story to tie the pieces together. But Hansen’s craft and stage presence are so strong that it hardly matters. Her work is playful, strange, and astonishingly skillful. The tagline promises “the weirdest puppet show you will ever see,” and it delivers. Go see it whenever you can.

Rating

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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Carmen Wiigwaas Craig is a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabe from Hiawatha First Nation. She holds an MEd with a focus on language revitalization and a BA with honours in linguistics from the University of Victoria as well as a diploma in creative writing and English literature from Camosun College. As a Michi-Saagii Nishnaabekwe, Carmen understands dibaajimowin or story as a measurement of reality and an important way to share knowledge. As a founding member of Oodenaw.com, an urban Indigenous consulting cooperative, Carmen pursues her passions for language revitalization, cultural resurgence, and accessible learning. Carmen lives on Vancouver Island, Canada, in the territories of the W̱SÁNEĆ and Lək̓ʷəŋən peoples.