THIS IS NOT AN APRIL FOOLS DAY JOKE. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT AN APRIL FOOLS DAY JOKE:
Rossellini expounds with relish upon the mating habits of a particular species. Assuming the first person (or first creepy-crawly), she plays the male, garbed in a series of gloriously expressive handmade costumes in the bold colours and shapes suited to smaller screens; if the distribution model is hi-tech, the aesthetic approach, courtesy of Brooklyn-based artist-turned-production designer Andy Myers, is decidedly handcrafted. Byers' costumes are made mostly from paper, eschewing digital effects for hands-on craft. Think Michel Gondry meets David Attenborough in the Blue Peter studio after dark.
Rossellini takes the biology seriously. "When I write the script," she notes, "first I do the research, the scientific research, then I try to simplify it as much as I can and make it funny. Then I have to imagine how it can translate in this sort of theatre that we do here with puppetry and me dressed up as the animal … It's funny but it's a little sick too. And also very informative."