What is "shadow play"

n. An ancient form of storytelling and entertainment using opaque, often articulated figures in front of an illuminated backdrop to create the illusion of moving images.

n. a drama executed by throwing shadows on a wall [syn: galanty show, shadow show]

"Shadow Play" is episode 62 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on May 5, 1961, on CBS.

"Shadow Play" is the first segment of the twenty-third episode of the first season (1985–86) of the American television series The Twilight Zone, and is a remake of the original series episode of the same name. The episode first aired on April 4, 1986.

Shadow play which is also known as shadow puppetry is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated figures (shadow puppets) to create cut-out figures which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-out shapes of the puppets sometimes include translucent color or other types of detailing. Various effects can be achieved by moving both the puppets and the light source. A talented puppeteer can make the figures appear to walk, dance, fight, nod and laugh.

Shadow play is popular in various cultures; currently there are more than 20 countries known to have shadow show troupes. Shadow play is an old tradition and it has a long history in Southeast Asia; especially in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia. It is also considered as an ancient art in other parts of Asia such as in China, India and Nepal. It is also known in the West from Turkey, Greece to France. It is a popular form of entertainment for both children and adults in many countries around the world.

Shadow Play (foaled 5 June 2005) is a world-record-holding standardbred racehorse. He was sired by The Panderosa, out of Matts Filly, a Matts Scooter mare. The colt was purchased as a yearling for $16,000, and is owned by Dr Ian Moore of Charlottetown, PEI, R G McGroup LTD of Bathurst, NB, and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Serge Savard of Saint-Bruno, Quebec.

Shadow Play is a short play by Noël Coward, one of ten that make up Tonight at 8:30, a cycle written to be performed across three evenings. In the introduction to a published edition of the plays, Coward wrote, "A short play, having a great advantage over a long one in that it can sustain a mood without technical creaking or over padding, deserves a better fate, and if, by careful writing, acting and producing I can do a little towards reinstating it in its rightful pride, I shall have achieved one of my more sentimental ambitions."

The play was first produced in 1935 in Manchester and on tour and played in London (1936), New York (1936–1937) and Canada (1938). It has enjoyed several major revivals and has been adapted for television. At its premières in Manchester and London, Shadow Play was played on the same evening as Fumed Oak and Hands Across the Sea. Like all the other plays in the cycle it originally starred Gertrude Lawrence and Coward himself.