Q&A: Katie Kohler discusses the handmade magic behind Noted

Managing Director of The Backpack, Katie Kohler, talks to us about Noted, their inventive wordless theatre production combining more than 400 hand-drawn illustrations with live music, movement and visual storytelling. We delve into the joys of handmade creativity and how the simplest ideas can become something extraordinary on stage.

Noted uses more than 400 hand-drawn images, live videos, music and movement to create a story without words. How did the idea first evolve from a simple drawing experiment into a full theatre production?

The origins stretch back almost 20 years to when the producer of the 10 Minute Play Festival was strapped for plays. She was so desperate that she came to us, a silly and curious bunch of friends currently taking the same tap dance class and asked for anything we could offer. It didn't need to be your typical play. We had plenty of ideas and needed a way to bring them to life quickly. Originally, we planned to use whiteboards to draw on live and use as a tap dance surface during dance breaks. In practice, we needed something that matched our pace and energy, so we ditched the whiteboards and tap shoes and stitched straps onto large pads of paper filled with our drawings of props and scenery. People responded well during the festival, and we loved creating something new with the freedom and creativity born from those simple drawings, so we kept going.

In an age of digital effects and AI-generated images, what is the appeal of creating a theatrical experience using hand-drawn illustrations and live human creativity?

We've always thrived by taking simple elements to unexpected places. The magic isn't in the drawings; it's in how the drawings are used. The foundation of AI is the opposite: exclusively using existing material as inspiration and creating complex images with little effort. It is incapable of being truly original, only emulating what it has been shown. Our process looks at everyday human experiences and finds creative ways to represent them using as few elements as possible. Also, we enjoy making something new and handmade as much as we love performing it. Having a robot do any step of the process (including all our promotional materials and answering interview questions) takes away the joy of making it.

The Back Pack's work combines disciplines ranging from illustration and animation to clowning, puppetry and music. How do you decide which creative tools best serve a particular moment in the show?

I would say every single moment of the show will include music, illustration, and clowning. That’s our format and style. The animation and puppetry are used to bring certain moments to the forefront a bit more and to build on the existing theme. Our favourite question in rehearsal is “what if…?” Sometimes it’s a practical way to get a point across, and at others it’s all purely for the spectacle.

The production embraces unpredictability and what you call the 'chaos of live storytelling'. Have there been moments in performance when something unexpected has actually made the show better?

Yes, absolutely, we hope it happens every show! Noted feels more like playing a team sport than performing a show. The magic happens in those “mistakes,” and it’s so much fun when you get to help out your teammate when they’re caught in the weeds a little bit. If there is a chance you won't pull it off, it becomes so much more satisfying when you do.

Despite its technical complexity, Noted is built from everyday objects, simple drawings and basic gestures. What does that simplicity allow you to achieve that more elaborate stage technology might not?

Rapid prototyping! Someone once described the show to us as a "firehose of creativity", which is only possible because of this simplicity. Need a teapot? Draw a teapot. Need that water to boil? Draw a teapot with steam, and tear the paper away to reveal the second drawing. Now let’s find a song we like and run it. Nothing in the show costs a lot of money to make. We’ve created a format that we can tell any story we’d like, without words, to anyone who will watch, with the greatest “cost” being our time and brain power.

You've said the show aims to leave audiences with a 'post-party glow in their heart'. What do you hope people are talking about as they leave the theatre?

We hope they’re totally inspired and delighted, and their inner child is talking nonstop about all the ideas they have. If we're lucky, maybe they’ll want a second viewing and bring along a friend to share the cool new thing they found.

Noted is at the Edinburgh Fringe at Assembly Roxy, Upstairs, 6 – 30 Aug 2026 (not 17 & 25), 10.15 – 11:15. Ticket information here: Noted | Edinburgh Festival Fringe