Beverley Puppet Festival 2008 - Saturday July 5th
Tickets: available from May 8th
Daytime shows: £5 each
Evening shows : £8 each (£7 for senior citizens and teens under 18)
£1 off each ticket when buying 5 or more tickets (any combination of shows )
Beverley Tourist Information Centre 01482 391672 34 Butcher Row, Beverley, East Yorkshire HU17 0AB
Beverley Arts Trust 01482 867430 07855 328552
On the door subject to availability
The Elves & the Shoemaker Objects Dart (London)
Where: Beverley Leisure Centre
Age: Age 2-7, children must be accompanied by an adult
Time: 10am
Tickets: £5 each
£1 off each ticket when buying 5 or more tickets (any combination of shows )Duration: 40mins (Event no.2)
Poor old shoemaker - he has nothing to eat and only one piece of leather! Can he make a pair of shoes and sell them? Mundane objects become fascinating, in this unique version of the famous Grimm's fairytale where the shoemaker, down on his luck, is helped by some hard-working little people. A suitcase full of shoe-related objects, from coat hangers to shoe trees and a blue feather duster create the shoemaker's workshop and the forest where the elves live and object shadows create magical images a whimsical story of fairy magic, with its own brand of humour and the triumph of good nature over adversity. www.objectsdart.info
The Three Billy Goats Gruff Garlic Theatre (Norwich)
Where: Beverley Friary, 11am & 1.30pm
Age: Age 3-6
Time: 11am & 1.30pm
Tickets: £5 each
£1 off each ticket when buying 5 or more tickets (any combination of shows )Duration: 35mins (Event no.3 & 6)
Who's that trip trapping over my bridge? This is the famous story of three hungry goats and a grumpy old troll, but told with a gentle ecological message. Watch out for the dance of the goats, a flying troll and loads and loads of rubbish! Garlic Theatre creates a magical world to entrance and delight young audiences with puppets, live music, storytelling and singing. www.garlictheatre.org.uk
Kathputli Black Cat Theatre (Cowling, W.Yorkshire)
Where: Beverley Memorial Hall, 73-75 Lairgate, Beverley, HU17 8HN
Age: (Families / age 5+)
Time: 11am
Tickets: £5 each
£1 off each ticket when buying 5 or more tickets (any combination of shows )Duration: 50 mins (Event no.4)
Kathputli is an ancient and popular form of folk entertainment from the rich culture of Rajasthan, India. Be transported to the Rajasthani palaces, as beautifully hand carved marionettes, sewn with bright cloth; imitate entertainment once given in the royal courts of the Maharaja. Meet the snake charmer with his deadly cobra, camels, horses, gorgeous dancers, a juggler, an acrobat and other colourful performers. www.blackcat-theatre.co.uk
The Selfish Giant Sea Legs Puppet Theatre (Hereford)
Where: Beverley Leisure Centre
Age: (Families / 4+)
Time: 12.30pm
Tickets: £5 each
£1 off each ticket when buying 5 or more tickets (any combination of shows )Duration: 45 mins (Event no.5)
Sea Legs Puppet Theatre presents their spectacular new adaptation of the much loved Oscar Wilde classic, The Selfish Giant. Since building a wall to keep the children out of his garden, the only visitors the Selfish Giant gets are Lady Snow and her friends. One morning he hears the most beautiful music coming from his bedroom window and is delighted with the sight that greets him. Set in a magnificent steel sculpted garden, the story is told using beautifully crafted puppets, a brilliant musical soundtrack and superb storytelling. www.sealegspuppets.com
Alice & the White Rabbit Indigo Moon (Beverley)
Where: Minster School Beverley
Age: (Families / 4+)
Time: 2.30pm
Tickets: £5 each
£1 off each ticket when buying 5 or more tickets (any combination of shows )Duration: 50 mins (Event no.7)
Join Alice on her magical adventure as she chases the White Rabbit back in time on a fantastic spiraling journey into Wonderland. Watch her change in size in this dream-like shadow adaptation of the famous tale. On her journey she meets the Cheshire Cat, a two-legged dragon and the March Hare at the mediaeval Mad Hatter's tea party. But beware the Queen of Hearts or you might just lose your head! This show celebrates different shadow techniques and is inspired by the gothic architecture and mediaeval times of the original white rabbit statue found in Beverley's St.Mary's Church, which is said to have inspired Lewis Carroll. A rare chance to catch this nationally touring show on home ground! www.indigomoontheatre.com
The Magnificent Flying Machine Garlic Theatre (Norwich)
Where: Beverley Leisure Centre
Age: (Families / 4+)
Time: 5pm
Tickets: £5 each
£1 off each ticket when buying 5 or more tickets (any combination of shows )Duration: 45 mins (Event no.8)
Have you ever dreamed of having wings?
Follow the wacky adventures of Prof. Bix Horn as he flies by the seat of his pants and tries to build a flying machine out of the most unlikely things. Soaring above is a Harpy bird who steals his most precious possession - but how will he get it back?
Sit back and enjoy the ride as Garlic Theatre, with beautifully crafted puppets, a bowler hat and a balloon, take you on a hair-brained journey of a lifetime. www.garlictheatre.org.uk
Houdini's Suitcase Pickled Image (Bristol)
Where: Beverley Memorial Hall, 73-75 Lairgate, Beverley, HU17 8HN
Age: (Adults / 12+)
Time: 8.30pm
Tickets: £8 each (£7 for senior citizens and teens under 18)
£1 off each ticket when buying 5 or more tickets (any combination of shows )Duration: 65mins (Event no. 9)
On top of a towering pile of luggage in a deserted railway station an old man waits and remembers. He is Joshka Malouth, one time apprentice to the great Houdini. The battered suitcases that surround him contain fragments of his extraordinary past. One by one he opens his bags, and a macabre carnival of strange and beautiful characters emerge to tell his story. As the smell of mothballs pervades the air, our hero's memories blur and change like dust in a breeze A tale of love and loss, nights at the circus and the mud-soaked trenches of the First World War. Houdini's Suitcase is a stunning piece of visual theatre that fuses live performance, puppetry, and a haunting soundtrack. Unique, poignant and wonderfully funny, this is a sensory feast for adults (minimum age 12 +) www.pickledimage.co.uk
A co-production with Nordland Visual Theatre, Norway.
Winner of the People's Jury Prize - Belo Horizonte Puppet Festival, 2007
"A Visual and dramatic treat. Not to be missed." Brid Conneely, British Council, Denmark.
"Moving, funny, thought provoking and brilliantly acted" audience member, Dukes Theatre, Lancaster Sep 07
"Houdini's Suitcase is an exceptionally accomplished performance. The combination of people and puppets is exciting, well attuned and wonderfully fluent" Lofotposten, Norway - May 2nd 2006
"It's like being taken out on a journey, and I'm exhausted, but it is fantastic to experience a show like this the best show I have ever seen" Kjersti Jakobsen, audience member - Premier of Houdini's Suitcase - April 28th 2006
Supported by Arts Council England