"You can recreate the sets, cast brilliant actors as the human characters, and have excellent songs to bring it all together, but the entire show would have fallen apart if they couldn't bring Paddington himself convincingly to life on stage. Instead of merely using a puppet, Paddington: The Musical utilizes a combination of animatronics, an on-stage actor, and an off-stage voice to bring the character to the show, and the results are so impressive that it's almost uncanny."
"The actor you'll see in costume on stage is Arti Shah, a little person who dons the full-body Paddington suit. While she's interacting with the other actors, James Hameed stands off-stage and recites Paddington's spoken lines. The costume is also fitted with animatronics so the little guy can move his mouth, blink, and be expressive on stage, which Hameed controls to match his line delivery. It's a multi-person job, but it's hard to argue with the results."
"Few characters in pop culture exemplify goodness like Paddington Bear. The Peruvian bear has captured the hearts of children and adults alike in his books, television series, and, most recently, his beloved live-action films starring Ben Whishaw. Now, the British icon has returned to the theater for the first time in 40 years with Paddington: The Musical , and I'm so obsessed with how the show brings the anthropomorphic bear onto the stage."
Paddington: The Musical marks Paddington Bear's first major stage return in 40 years, opening in the West End on November 1. The production combines detailed sets, human actors, and original songs while centering on a technically sophisticated portrayal of Paddington. The on-stage costume performer Arti Shah inhabits the full-body suit while off-stage actor James Hameed provides vocal performance and controls animatronic facial movements to synchronize dialogue and expression. The hybrid approach allows natural interaction between Paddington and other characters and delivers expressive mouth and eye movements. The show has generated enthusiastic responses from audiences and currently runs only in London.
Read at Kotaku
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