Several interesting things happen in "Pericles," directed by R. Kevin Garcia Doyle, but you will need to peer through them to find the Shakespeare.

For starts, many of the early scenes in this wide-ranging, episodic plot are believed to have been written by someone else. Doyle dispenses with them by making hefty cuts and advancing the play quickly to its third act.

He also adds clarity with a hard-working narrator and liberal use of puppets, and many of the production's most interesting scenes don't come from the words, but from the staging and Jonathan Sypert's choreography.

There's a puppetry joust with horses and riders accompanied by clip-clopping sound effects. The knights perform a slap-stomp-and-grunt dance routine and, later, disappear from a courtly couples' minuet — intent on offstage mischief.

In between, we go on a budget tour of the Mediterranean, illustrated by a topographic stage floor, a transparent map and a tiny ship. Sandra Finney's plentiful Phoenician costumes contribute to the travelogue.

Despite the Pericles' multigenerational adventures, Shakespeare's theme is that of father-daughter relationships — illustrated repeatedly, but without the high drama of Lear or the desperation of Prospero.

Pericles beats it out of Antioch after discovering that the King is in an incestuous relationship with his daughter. Next, the King of Pentopolis gives his daughter to Pericles as a tournament prize. Lastly, Pericles gives up his own infant daughter, then begins a quest to find her again.

An actor identified in the program only as "Q" anchors the swirling action with a solid performance in the central role, giving vitality to the young Pericles and tolerable sentiment to his older self.

Eden-Lee Murray does excellent work as the narrator, seemingly always present and directing the action with non-verbal sounds, gestures and the thump of her staff. Leigh Sholler appears as Pericles' wife and Julia Nakamoto as his daughter.