ABOUT
It’s possible for me to have many different job titles, or be referred to as many different things. Here are a few: designer, director, consultant, theatre maker, artist, creative collaborator, specialist, puppeteer, and a production manager once introduced me to the rest of the team as the “Puppet Overlord”…
The things that underpin all of these though, the things at the very core of my work, are puppetry and using objects to create performance and tell stories.
Training in puppetry at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, I’ve worked in a lot of different puppetry based roles and jobs since – I like to take all this experience, the circumstances of any project, and inspiration from other schools of thought and practicality, to create considered, ergonomic, and holistic puppetry rooted ideas. It’s about finding the right language or tools to complement and enhance everything else, do the right job and tell the best story. The services and roles I end up providing during this can include design, conceptualisation, puppet making and fabrication, build supervision, devising, direction, dramaturgy, consultancy, coaching and training, or – more often than not – a mix of all of these.
I’m fascinated by anatomy and architecture, shape, structure and form, and that line where science and art meet. How things work, why things do what they do, and our very nature as humans.
In 2016 I was the inaugural recipient of the Sally Goldsworthy Bursary Award at Discover Story Centre, Stratford, and I was a finalist for the Jerwood Live Arts Fund in 2020.
A great joy in my work is its versatility and ability to tie in with other art forms. To date I’ve been worked on projects for theatre, television, opera, dance, circus, cabaret, clowning, storytelling, theme parks, music videos, advertising, digital media, charity campaigns, scientific research and training, concerts, live events and even an Olympic opening ceremony, and within that have delighted in the many different approaches, methods, and ways to make work.
Recent credits include:
Faustus: That Damned Woman – Storyhouse, Prop/Mask Maker
Hey Duggee: The Live Theatre Show – Kenny Wax & Cuffe and Taylor, Puppet Making Team for Yvonne Stone & Daisy Beattie, (Puppetry Designs)
101 Dalmations – Regents Park, Puppet Making Team for Toby Olie (Puppetry Designer/Director)
Spitting Image – Avalon/Britbox, Season 1 Additonal Puppeteer & Season 2 Puppeteer
Animal Farm – CTP/Fiery Angel, Puppet Making Team for Toby Olie (Puppetry Designer/Director)
I Spy – Page One Theatre & Little Angel Theatre, Co-creator
Tangled Tales – Theatre Rites, Designer & Puppetry Co-Director
A Christmas Carol – Bristol Old Vic, Puppetry Designer & Director
A Christmas Carol – Theatre By the Lake, Puppetry Designer & Director
When the Crows Visit – Kiln Theatre, Shadow Puppetry Designer & Director
Little Shop of Horrors – Storyhouse, Puppetry Consultancy & Direction
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show – Millenium Entertainment International, UK Associate Director
Brit Awards 2019 – eighteentwentysix, Puppetry Design & Performance Team
Peter Pan – Park Theatre, Puppetry Designer & Director
The Lieutenant of Inishmore – Michael Grandage Company, Noel Coward Theatre, Puppetry Consultancy
Swallows & Amazons – Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Puppetry Designer & Director
The Tempest – Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Puppetry Designer & Director
Rise & Fall – Page One Theatre, UK Tour, Associate Director
ENO Baylis – Satyagraha Project – Guest Artist
Enid Blyton’s The Secret Seven – Storyhouse, Puppetry Designer & Director
Zeraffa Giraffa – Little Angel Theatre & Omnibus Theatre, Puppetry Designer & Director,
The Snow Child – Unicorn Theatre, Sheffield Theatres, Puppetry Designer & Director
Watership Down – Watermill Theatre, Puppetry Designer & Director
Jane Wenham: Witch of Walkern – Out of Joint, Watford Palace Theatre & Arcola Theatre, Puppetry Designer & Director
Larksong – New Vic Theatre, Puppetry Director & Consultant
The Broke ‘N’ Beat Collective – Theatre Rites & 20 Stories High, UK Tour, Puppet Co-Designer
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Get a feel for some of my work as a creative collaborator here, or drop me a message and get in touch.