The Magic of Theatre and Puppetry...

A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings - Battersea Arts Centre Website

I was fortunate enough to get a chance to see this touring Little Angel Theatre production. I had doubted my chances having read rave reviews in the daily London papers, and getting to Battersea seemed like quite an effort initially. But having been to the arts centre there I would certainly make the effort to return. An amazing culture-ful little treasure trove with a warm friendly down-your-local-pub atmosphere.  Images I've seen online since would tend to suggest it's far bigger than I'd thought when I was there. That's another one for the "Explore and Discover" to-do list... 

 

 I have to admit I'm one of those who says they love the theatre but rarely goes. It's the prices and the in-advance booking which puts me off, so I usually only see small local productions in which I have friends starring. (Nothing glamourous, I'm talking Greaspaint, school performances etc.) But it's the performances like this, with a small cast but such amazing puppetry and staging, that are truely inspiring. It made me want to write stories, illustrate, act, paint, compose music and even set up my own cream tea shop. Though the interpretation of the story line and actor performances were fantastic, what stole the show for me were the puppets. The craft, design and history of these magaical beings are things I definitely want to weave into a future 3D project. So watch this space for that, though I know I'm going to be busy keeping my eyes peeled for any more quirky theatre productions...  

 

The Cast (all four human members and main character puppets - Photo taken during final applause)