Pulp Fiction, American director and writer Quentin Tarantino's 1994 seven-time Oscar-nominated film, which revolves around the lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner robbers, had no shortage of intersecting plot-lines.
Yet Dunedin Fringe Festival show Puppet Fiction takes the concept of tangled to another level entirely.
Opening tonight at the Inch Bar, on the Gardens Corner, the production features 17 marionettes, controlled by Wellington-based Jon Coddington, New Zealand comedian James Nokise and Dunedin actor Anya Tate-Manning.
''We've extracted the main storylines and we tell them chronologically,'' director Hannah Clarke explains via phone from Wellington.
''Each night, three 40-minute slices of the film will be played out. And every night is different because of the nature of puppetry. Things do go wrong. Some things are impossible to do with puppets but we attempt them anyway.
''Often I sit in the audience and operate the background visuals and hear people ask, 'how are they going to do this?'.
''We found our audience comprised a lot of cult fans of Tarantino and they will say lines along with us. The show is not interactive, but the audience does make the show. We also struck gold with the actors [puppeteers] because they are very good at improvisation,'' Clarke says.
The brainchild of Coddington, who fleshed out the idea with Clarke, whom he'd met while studying at Massey University and Toi Whakaari NZ Drama School, Puppet Fiction made its debut in the Pit Bar at Bats Theatre, Wellington, as part of the New Zealand Fringe Festival 2012 Puppetry is quite an art.
It is about understanding the intentions of that puppet. Over time, I have found them easier to manipulateIt then returned for a winter season that year, before playing packed-out shows in the Auckland and Adelaide fringe festivals in 2013.
Clarke says she and the cast prefer more intimate venues.
''We have played to larger houses. I think the maximum audience we have played to is 200, but that was difficult. We get more joy engaging with a smaller audience.
''One reviewer talked about the sweat of the actors being part of the show. They are really trying to achieve the impossible. Part of the fun of the show is watching Jon try to manipulate two or three puppets at the same time to create these beautiful scenes.''
Coddington, who has enjoyed making models and sculpting ''ever since I realised I had hands'', crafted all 17 of the characters in Puppet Fiction.
''I try to go to op-shops to find a lot of recycled materials for the puppets. I had a lot of fun with the heads,'' he says.
''Puppetry is quite an art. It is about understanding the intentions of that puppet. Over time, I have found them easier to manipulate. I have tried to make them as simple as possible.''
From time to time, he is also required to perform surgery of sorts on his creations. As per Tarantino's film-making style, there is a steady body count.
''We do have a couple of special effects, such as when Marvin gets shot in the face,'' Coddington says.
''But whereas an actor might find it difficult to fake dying on stage, a puppet dies as soon as you drop it.''
See it
Puppet Fiction, part of the 2014 Dunedin Fringe Festival, opens tonight and runs until Sunday at the Inch Bar, 8 Bank St, Dunedin. Show times: 7pm, 8.30pm and 10pm. There will be a ''marathon special'' on Sunday, 5pm-6.30pm.
Note: No bookings, so arrive early to claim a seat. It's a koha show (Pumpkin and Honey Bunny want to see what you've got in your wallet).
