Hilarious roving puppets, sushi therapy, a stunning tale about a fire spirit... yes the puppets are here! This incredible festival will light up your winter evenings, young and old.
The organisers promise a rich, colourful, diverse program where you see puppets both tiny and huge roaming the streets
In the adult program, shows include the incredible ventriloquism of Showko, an adults-only sci-fi puppet burlesque and a raucous puppet slam featuring a new generation of puppetry artists.
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The professional development series kicks off with a talk by Sonny Tilders, of Walking with Dinosaurs and King Kong fame. Other workshops include an exploration of 3D digital technology in puppet making and a deep dive into the creation and manipulation of the marionette.
Sarah Kriegler of LemonyS Puppet Theatre is an award winning director, puppeteer and writer, who believes that puppetry facilitates the ultimate suspension of disbelief.
“When you see an actor take a bow at the end of the show, it reminds the audience that they saw someone playing a character,” she says. “But a puppet is made to be one specific character and that has a powerful effect on the audience.”
She says there are hundreds of small puppet companies operating across Australia and this festival brings this incredible work to Melbourne audiences.
“They’re doing amazing work, but most of us never get the chance to see it. It showcases the diversity of puppetry as a form. We are presenting an example of almost all the different forms of puppetry.”
The festival is presented by La Mama Theatre Company and LemonyS Puppet Theatre.
It’s happening in two weeks, from 27 June to 2 July 2023. More info is available here.
