listings KIDS
The Puppet Animation Festival
Mon 27 Mar—Sun 30 Apr, Various Venues, Central and Southern Scot/and.
Puppet performances and workshops are listed below. Tickets can be purchased from the appropriate venue. For a copy of the festival brochure contact the Netherbow Arts Centre, 43—45 High Street, Edinburgh, 0131 556 9579/2647. Shows listed run until the end of this issue (Thu 13 Apr). Further listings will be published in our next issue out on Thu 13 Apr.
KIDS PREVIEW The Puppet Animation
Festival Mon 27 Mar—Sun 30 Apr, various
venues. The Puppet Animation Festival celebrates its l7th year with a long overdue revamp. Elaine C. Smith has come onboard as the Festival’s new patron, and increased Scottish Arts Council funding has enabled a glossy colour brochure, complete with wonderful illustrations by List cartoon man John Fardell.
’lt got to the stage where it just
needed freshening up,’ says Festival Direc
V L lgik IL VVUS
important to find someone who could help to raise the profile of the Festival,
and Elaine’s got a great public image.’
Over the month, some 80 venues - from the smallest village hall to a 400-seat theatre — will play host to 150 performances from the best puppet companies around. Banyan Theatre Company and Storybox Theatre from England and Scottish companies Catherine Wheels, Shona Reppe Puppets, Edinburgh Puppet Company and Richard Medrington are just some of the performers bringing both traditional and contemporary puppetry to an ever increasing audience. On the animation side of things, the Filmhouse and MacRobert have an exciting programme of film screenings and workshops.
But although the festival stills suffers from a lack of interest from the media, largely due to its geographical spread, it continues to develop each year, showcasing the wealth of talent the puppet world has to offer.
'The level of Scottish puppetry is very high. Scottish companies are creating work for 150,000 people a year, but because they perform in very small venues with small audiences, it’s not receiving the recognition it deserves,’ says Hart.
'But it's changing. Slowly, but surely.‘ (Helen Monaghan)
Performances
Beatrix Potter's Jemima Puddleduck And Her Friends Ages 4+. Join Beatrix Potter, Jemima Puddleduck, Squirrel Nutkin and Jeremy Fisher for fantastic adventures, stories and songs as Unicorn Theatre for Children bring these classic stories to life.
MacRobert University of Stirling, Stirling, (11786 461081. Tue 4—Sat 8 Apr, Tue 4 Apr. 2pm; Wed 5 «5'; Thu 6, 11am & 2pm: Fri 7 Apr, 7pm; Sat 8 Apr, 11am & 2 m. £3.
Billy Goats Gruff Ages 3—7. Using cloth puppets, Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre retell the classic Swedish folk tale of the Billy Goats Gruff.
Rothes Halls Rothes Square, Glenrothes, 01592 611 101. Tue 4 Apr, 2pm. £3.50 (£2.50).
Auchinleck Community Centre Well Road, Auchinleck, 01290 422829. Fri 7 Apr. 1.30pm. £2 (£1); family ticket £3. Civic Centre Abercromby Place. Tullibody. 01259 213131. Sat 8 Apr, 10.30am. £2.
Bowhill Little Theatre Bowhill House, Selkirk. 01750 20842. Mon 10 Apr. 3pm. £2.50 (£1.50); 111111in ticket £6.
Civic Centre Park Place, Dollar, 01259 213131. Tue 1 1 Apr. 10.30am. £2. Prestwick Library 14 Kyle Street. Prestwick. 01292 61 1222. Tue 1 1 Apr,
2 m. £3.50 (£2.50).
The Bird Catcher Ages 6+. A man's life is transformed when he sets out to catch a songbird in this imaginative show brought to you by Shona Reppe and Claire Pencak.
Port Seton Centre South Seton Park, Fort Seton, 01875 815815. Wed 12 Apr, 2pm. £2.50 (£1.50).
Go Noah Go! Ages 3—9. A Caribbean version of the Old Testament story featuring a cast of thousands of wooden puppet animals. Songs and audience participation aplenty, brought to you by one of the UK’s oldest companies, Little Angel Pup et Theatre.
Burgh Halli) Chambers Institute, High Street, Peebles, 01750 20842. Tue 4 Apr, 3pm. £2.50 (£1.50); family ticket £6. Howden Park Centre Howden, Livingston, 01506 433634. Wed 5 Apr, 10.30am & 1.30pm. £4 (£2.50); family ticket £12 (£7.50).
Rothes Halls Rothes Square, Glenrothes, 01592 611101. Thu 6 Apr, 2pm. £3.50 (£2.50).
Longniddry Community Centre Seton Road, Longniddry, 01875 852933. Sat 8 Apr, 2pm. £2.50 (£1.50).
MacRobert University of Stirling, Stirling, 01786 461081. Mon 10 Apr, 11am. £2.50.
Pigs Can Fly Ages 3—8. Tommy is always dreaming about spaceships, monsters and Martians and he’s always late for school. When he stumbles upon Professor Brainstorm’s magic robot all his dreams come true. But will anyone believe him? Fun and adventure with Kenspeckle Puppets.
Gorgie/Dalry Community Association 22 MacLeod Street, Gorgie, 0131 337 3252. Mon 3 Apr, 10.30am. £2.50. Village Hall Mar Place, Sauchie, 01259 213131. Tue 4 Apr, 2pm. £2. Clovenstone Community Centre 54 Clovenstone Park, 0131 453 4561. Mon 10 Apr, 2pm. 50p.
Sighthill Community Education
Centre 4 Sighthill Wynd, ()131 453 6078.
Tue 11 Apr, 2pm. £2.50.
Pinocchio Ages 5+. Collodi’s classic tale of the little wooden puppet is brought to life by Norwich Puppet Theatre who combine a variety of puppet styles - Bunraku, glove, marionette and shadow — in their new production.
McLaren Hall Main Street, Kiltin, 01567 820571. Wed 12Apr, 11am. £2 (family ticket £5).
Girvan Library Montgomerie Street, Girvan, 01292 611222. Thu 13 Apr, 2pm. £3.50 (£2.50).
Pooh And Piglet Nearly Meet The Heffalump Ages 5—10. In the true spirit of A.A. Milne’s wonderful stories, Pooh Bear and friends are recreated using soft toy puppetry by Richard Medrington’s Pup ets.
Civrc Centre Park Place, Dollar, 01259 213131. Tue 11 Apr, 10.30am. £2.
Wynd Theatre Buccleuch Street, Melrose, 01896 823854. Wed 12 Apr, 3pm & 6pm. £2.50 (£1.50).
Town Hall Abbey Place, Jedburgh, 01750 20842. Thu 13 Apr, 2pm. £2.50 (£1.50); family ticket £6.
Hawrck Museum Wilton Lodge Park, Hawick, 01450 373457. Thu 13 Apr,
6 m. £2.50 (£1.50); family ticket £6. The Singing Ringing Tree Ages 3-7. Folding Theatre Puppet Company’s adaptation of the European folk tale which tells the story of a prince and his quest for the magic tree that will win the heart of a vain princess.
MacRobert University of Stirling, Stirling, 01786 461081. Tue 4 Apr, llam. £2.50.
Drymen Village Hall 1—2 Main Street, Drymen, 01360 660751. Thu 6 Apr, 11am. £2 (family ticket £5).
Snow White And The Seven Dwarves Purvcs Puppets present a magical adaptation of the classic tale of Snow White, using large-scale, glow-in-the- dark pup ets.
Rothes quareGlenrothes,01592 611101. Mon 3 Apr, 2pm. £3.50 (£2.50). Town Hall 1 Queen’s Gardens, St Andrews, 01334 414714. Sat 8 Apr, 2.30pm. £3.
Tom Thumb See photo caption.
Blyth Hall Scott Street, Newport-On-Tay, 01592 414714. Mon 3 Apr, 2.30pm. £2. Buckhaven Community Centre Kinnear Street, Buckhaven, 01592 415333. Tue 4 Apr, 2.30pm. £1. MacRobert University of Stirling, Stirling, 01786 461081. Wed 5 Apr, 11am. £2.50.
Burgh Halls The Cross, Linlithgow, 01506 433634. Thu 6 Apr, 10.30am & 1.30pm. £4 (£2.50); family ticket £12 (£7.50).
North Parish Church Hall 42 Bowmont Street, Kelso, 01750 20842. Fri 7 Apr,
1pm & 3pm. £2.50 (£1.50); family ticket £6
Muir Hall George Street, Doune, Stirling,
'01786 841732. Sat 8 Apr, 11am. £2 (£5
family ticket).
Netherbow Arts Centre 43—45 High Street, Edinburgh, 0131 556 9579/2647. Thu 13 Apr, 11am & 2pm. £3.50 (£2.75). Willie The Wicked Wolf Ages 4+. Meet Willie the Wicked Wolf who not only has a taste for motorbikes and rock ‘n’ roll, but Little Red Riding Hood and her granny too. A comic version of the classic tale from Over The Top. MacRobert University of Stirling, Stirling, 01786 461081. Mon 3 Apr, 11am. £2.50.
Baldridgeburn Community Leisure Centre Dunfermline, 01383 312275. Wed 5 Apr, 2.30pm. £2.
Film & Animation Workshops
Events at The Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh. 0131 228 6382. James And The Giant Peach (U) Sat 1 Apr, 2pm. See Film Index.
Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (U) Sun 2 Apr, 2pm. See Film index.
The Adventures Of Pinocchio (U) Mon 3 Apr, 3pm. See Film Index.
Anastasia (U) Mon 10 & Tue 11 Apr, 2pm. See Film Index.
Ferngully: The Last Rainforest (U) Wed 12 & Thu 13 Apr, 2pm. See Film Index.
Animation — Drawing On Film Workshops Wed 12 & Thu 13 Apr. Ages 7—9 (Wed 10am & Thu 1.30pm); ages 10—11 (Wed 1.30pm & Thu 10am). £5. The Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, 0131 228 2688. An exciting animation workshop led by Shiona Wood, Filmhouse Education Officer and animation students from Edinburgh College ofArt. The session will explore techniques with the aim of creating a short film by the end of the day.
Events at MacRobert, University of Stirling, Stirling, 01786 461081. Animation Prolects Sat 1 & Sun 2 Apr, Thu 6 & Fri 7Apr and Sat 15 & Sun 16 Apr, 10.30am—4.30pm. £20 (for six sessions). Advance booking necessary. MacRobert, University of Stirling, Stirling, 01786 461081. Ages 12+. This six-day project explores 3D animation and participants will have a chance to make their own models, sets and props for a short animated film.
Muppets From Space (U) Sat 1 & Sun 2 Apr, 2.30pm. £1.50. See Film Index. Mystery Men (PG) Sun 9 & Wed 12 Apr, 2.30pm. £1.50. See Film Index.
TOM THUMB See listings for dates and venues. Age 5+. Meet the tiny little boy who's so wee he can have a bath in a teacup, go skating across the icing of a cake and get swallowed by a goldfish. Follow.the adventures of Tom Thumb as he tries to make it in the big, bad world tn Shona Reppe
Puppets new adaptation.
30 Mar—13 Apr 2000 THE LIST 83