Theatre’s puppet festival is set to enchant

THE Boo Theatre will stage its annual Puppet Festival.

The family friendly festival will run for three days from Thursday, July 14 until Sunday, July 17.

The Thursday will see a performance of Theatre Ballads, an evening performance blending animation, puppetry, story-telling and song.

And on the Friday night, adults can look forward to ‘Coulrophobia’, a show for adults by Pickled Image about two anarchic clowns.

Shows for the very young over the three days will include Duvet Day, Clay Time, POM and Midnight and Anna. There will also be shows for older children and their families including Recycled Rubbish by Theatre Rites, The Adventures Of Prince Achmed and classic tale The Elves And The Shoemaker.

Parade-making craft sessions, live music, walkabout performances and extra-special ‘theatre for one’ shows will take place during the festival too. ●● Coulorophobia is a show for adults at the Boo Theatre’s Puppet Festival

Free activities will include street performance Ye Gods, where actors tower over a model town, and Clapperbox, where the public become both audience and puppeteers.

There will also be a chance to watch puppetry from In The Bellows and Horse + Bamboo’s own Special Delivery, and a chance to meet Polish puppeteer Lukasz Puczko’s creation, ‘Burek’.

Sparkle by Puppetship for very young children is set to be a highlight of the Sunday and will feature alongside two shows for older children – The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean and The Man Who Planted Trees.

The festival will also offer a three-day puppetmaking and performance course for adults, taught by puppeteer Marc Parrett.

Alison Duddle, joint artistic director of the Boo and festival programmer, said: “This year’s Puppet Festival is going to be the most exciting yet. We’re hosting some of the best puppetry in the UK, with quirky, funny and beautiful shows for families, hilarious, anarchic work for adults and sweet and wonderful shows for babies and toddlers and their carers.”

Most ticketed shows are £5 or £7. Other activities are free. To book tickets see horseandbamboo.org or call 01706 220241.