Derbyshire town pulls strings with puppet festival

Published: 20 July 2013
Reporter: Steve Orme

Thingumajig Theatre will stage Hullaba Lulu at Buxton Puppet Festival on Tuesday

Buxton Puppet Festival takes place this week, with “an extravaganza of the finest puppetry from across the country” visiting the Derbyshire town.

Puppet shows and workshops will take place in the Pavilion Arts Centre and Pauper’s Pit and there will be free street performances throughout the week.

The Puppet Gruffalo is sure to draw crowds on Wednesday (24 July) with a full marionette stage version of Julia Donaldson’s classic tale about a cunning mouse who outwits the Gruffalo.

Puppet Festival favourites Lempen Puppets will return with The Golden Princess on Thursday (25 July), a story of a one-legged musician who sits alone by the sea happily playing until a golden carriage draws up with a mysterious but beautiful princess.

There are also puppet shows with adult themes: The Madness of Order on Thursday encompasses live music from Sheffield band The Cuckoo Clocks together with “psychedelic shadow puppetry and projections” while A Bag of Ancient Greeks on Friday (26 July) features all 19 characters from three famous legends Orpheus, Scylla and Oedipus.

To celebrate the memory of Chris Agnew, puppeteer and co-founder of Buxton Puppet Festival, Funny Wonders will present a film, Only Smarties Have The Answer, on Saturday (27 July), a piece which tells accounts of human rights abuses in psychiatric institutions.

There are many workshops during the week including lessons in how to be a puppeteer; how to use recycled materials to create a simple rod puppet; and how to create video games through shadow puppetry.

Free street performances will take place on the Opera House forecourt from Tuesday until Friday.

Further information is available at www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk.

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