IF YOU LIKE: Newcastle Puppetry Festival

Image: Panta Rhei II by t’Magich Theatertje 

From Saturday 19^th – Sunday 27^th April, you can get your puppetry fix (if you knew you needed such a thing), as the Newcastle Puppetry Festival returns to the city. With a varied programme which includes shows, workshops, talks, films and outdoor theatre, it’s very much aimed at adults as well as families and children.

From giant puppets roaming Northumberland Street (including a Jabberwocky and accompanying accordionist), to faux magic comedy shows and Q&As with the puppeteers to learning how to make your own puppet, there is something for everyone in this week-long festival which is certain to have you on strings and prove that puppetry is not just for children.

IF YOU LIKE…

GETTING CRAFTY

If you’re keen to get hands-on in the puppet making process, there are plenty of ways you can give it a go. There’s a two day Whirl-a-Bird Puppet Making Course run by Chloe Rodham, or, if you’ve more time on your hands, the six-day course exploring and creating a beastly puppet character, inspired by “gurning gargoyles, creatures from folklore, ancient tales, mythology or your own dreams and imagination.”

You can even explore the more experimental, darker side of puppetry, with a range of adult-geared workshops taking on more serious themes and ideas.

Image: Jabberwocky by Rag and Bone

LEARNING ABOUT THE ARTS

You can learn more about the amazing experts behind the projects brought to the Newcastle Puppetry Festival, by attending Q&As with local animator, puppeteer and model maker Chloe Rodham; Yorkshire-based puppeteer and producer William Steele; and Dutch theatre legends t’Magisch Theatertje (who are performing and UK-premiering Panta Rhei II and Cantos Animata at this year’s festival). These sessions will provide the perfect opportunity to learn more about the secrets behind the craft, and ask those burning questions you will certainly have.

Image: Toon Underground Parade

LIVE PERFORMANCES

One of the main offerings of the Newcastle Puppetry Festival is the extensive collection of live shows. With themes ranging from the whimsical to the woeful, the playful to the profound, and the silly to the suggestive, there is undoubtedly a show for all interests.

Performances include: the adults-only Moving Parts Puppet Cabaret, bringing puppet-based mayhem; the UK premiere of Panta Rhei, which promises to carry you away in a world of magic and dreams; The Stuff of Life, another adults-only show which tackles “the very fabric of existence” via kitchen paraphernalia; Cantos Animata, a UK premiere combining puppets, masks, music and movement to explore a story open-to-interpretation; and a faux magic comedy show featuring puppetry, camp surprises, absurdism, hip-hop, deluded illusions, singing and dancing. Most of the live performances take place between Northern Stage and Great North Museum: Hancock.

Opening the festival on Saturday 19^th April will be a series of free outdoor theatre performances on Northumberland Street, where giant puppets will take over Newcastle’s busiest street. And be sure to catch the Toon Underground community parade, happening at 2pm; it will feature 150 local residents and artists, and celebrate all things ‘underground’ in Newcastle, including the Metro network, burrowing creatures and mushrooms and fungi.