Stone Puppet Festival organiser DAVID LEECH rounds up the latest festival news ahead of the big weekend on 8th and 9th August, and explains why film star Richard E Grant has been invited to attend…
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n a recent interview in the Daily Mail, film star and celebrity Richard E Grant was asked a series of “devilishly probing questions” in which he was required to give precise, definitive answers.
Among other things, he was asked to comment on the following:
The book that holds an everlasting resonance for you:
“Alice in Wonderland, which I’ve returned to time and time again since I was a boy. It’s a perfect guide to the British sensibility with sublime imaginative leaps and droll wit.”
The prized possession you value above all others:
“My Pelham Puppets. I had a marionette theatre in my parents’ garage in Swaziland, where I grew up. I have 40 now and keep buying more.”
The happiest moment you will cherish forever:
“The final day of filming my autobiographical film, Wah-Wah, in the Mkhaya game reserve in 2004 when a family of elephants appeared. It happened just as the film ran out.”
Mr Grant would do very well then to accept our invitation to Stone’s first ever Puppet Festival.
One of the main indoor performances is Alice in Wonderland, where he would be invited to join Rough Magic Theatre down the Rabbit Hole as they present a riotously entertaining puppetry version of Lewis Carroll’s most celebrated work. Packed to the gills with music, song, dance and an array of beautifully constructed puppets, this two-person show is a delight for all ages.
Everyone can join the Mad Hatter for tea! Play Croquet with the Queen of Hearts! And revel in all the madcap fun as Lewis Carroll himself guides you into a world of talking rabbits, grinning cats and mock turtles!
The festival will also include a History of Pelham Puppets exhibition and we hope to have a local group of children perform a show using Pelham Puppets in the Sunday afternoon finale (David has been tangled up with Pelham Puppets for over half a century now and produces the new range of Pelham Puppets for the toy trade).
Finally, yes! The circus is coming to town! This is a wonderful circus that brings no harm to animals in any way, including the elephants. They are all beautifully carved out of wood and are being brought to Stone by the Upfront Puppet Theatre from Cumbria.
These wonderful examples of trick marionettes from a bygone age were produced by a Stan Parker. Born in 1926, his father was a Punch and Judy performer and Stan took up wood carving as a young man. Soon he became interested in Marionettes, or string puppets. Stan developed his puppet performances and soon had a repertoire of cabaret and circus.
He then set off “on the road” to take his shows literally all over the world. For 25 years Stan and “Stanelli’s Super Circus” was one of two major puppet exports from the United Kingdom. Stan flew the flag for British puppetry and for many years he was an active member of the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild.
“Stanelli’s Super Circus” was a show tailor-made for children and adults. Stan had a wonderful knowledge and love of ballet and theatre, circus and puppets. He shared his experience with puppeteers the world over and delighted audiences everywhere.
Recently, Collette Knowles from the Rough Magic Theatre shared her thoughts when she saw the puppet circus for the first time. She said: “A gentleman sat next to me kept commenting on how it was ‘really very good wasn’t it?’ He seemed to have a tone of surprise as if expecting a puppet show would hold few charms for himself as an adult. It just goes to show what I have always said, that puppetry is a very flexible medium which is suitable for everyone not just for children. There was also perhaps the implication in his comment that something designed to entertain children perhaps need not be of a high standard.
“I find that a lot of people assume that something suitable for children need not be of high quality. This of course is simply not true. There are a huge number of theatre companies and television shows that are of an extremely high standard but do not receive the recognition they deserve in the theatre and arts world as a whole because they choose to make shows for children.”
Everyone involved with Stone Puppet festival believes that children deserve at least as high a standard of performance and artwork as any other age group and work for children can be far more creative and imaginative and lacks a lot of the boundaries placed upon material that is supposed to be for adults.
So, with those thoughts in mind, make sure you treat yourself, your family and friends to a weekend of amazing fun, excitement and entertainment. You are likely to discover that Stone’s High Street and Market Square will turn into a place like no place on Earth. It will be transformed into a land full of wonder and enchantment. Even so, some people will tell you, to survive it you’ll need to be as mad as a hatter!
However, remember, when the Mad Hatter asked, “Have I gone mad? Alice replied, “I’m afraid so. You’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are!”
And they’ll all be there on August 8th and 9th – see you there!
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