Tag Archives: Little Angel Theatre

A trip to the Victoria & Albert Museum….!

Posted on by Collette Knowles
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I was recently fortunate enough to be invited to audition with “Oily Cart” for their new production “Ring-a-ding-ding“.  This necessitated me once again trying to find the cheapest way of getting to London and back.  I eventually settled on a drive to Skipton, a megabus to London and a train back to Skipton departing at eightish in the evening.

The huge time gap between the end of the audition and the return train filled me with glee, as this gave me an excuse to visit that fantastic storehouse of wonders: The Victoria & Albert Museum!

I naturally was planning on taking a look at the puppets in the theatre section.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get round to seeing the museum of childhood section but there were plenty of other things on display in any case.

I knew the Little Angel would have some puppets on display, as they had been getting them out of storage when I visited for my Goldilocks audition with them.

After tearing myself away with difficulty from the other collections in the museum, I eventually located the theatre section.  Sure enough, Little Angel’s puppets were there, beautifully displayed in a fantastically carved reclaimed theatre box.

There are far more puppets in the V & A’s collections than are on display at any given time.  There is also a wide variety of educational source material, take a look at the website, where you can find more information on all of the things I’ve taken photos of here.

For those who are confused about what relevance the pictures of the refreshment rooms may have.  I have a personal interest in William Morris and his contemporaries because his links with the Pre-Raphaelite movement.  I did extensive research into this area for my A-level art and design personal project.  I find his wallpaper, tile and stained glass design work intensely satisfying to look at and the philosophy behind it admirable.  Although he has been appropriated in the modern day by the bourgeoisie, at the time his ideas were very radical and involved the ordinary worker regaining dignity and satisfaction from the things he made rather than being just another cog in the wheel of the factory system.

I also think it is important as a theatre maker to have a wide ranging interest in different areas and art forms.  I am very keen on cross collaboration and while specialising in one thing alone can result in high technical prowess, it can be a limited and limiting approach.  I am all for diversity and creativity, hence my attending the Decibel Performing Arts Showcase in Manchester recently.  I shall tell you about that in another post.

For similar reasons I have included pictures of masks.  There is a lot to be said for using a combination of masks and puppetry, as seen in the Lion King Musical stage show and the work of Horse + Bamboo, to mention a couple.  It could be said that a puppet is like a full body mask into which the performer projects their energy, but also uses it as a disguise to hide behind.

I have recently heard from enthusiasts in the Toy Theatre world, that Toy Theatre practitioners hate puppets; who are the enemy because they are more dynamic and accessible and get more attention as a result.  Similarly I have heard hard-line puppeteers decrying the use of puppets by actors in a “storytelling” capacity.  My personal view is that producing great theatre that entertains people is the most important thing, and that any techniques or materials you might use should serve that aim.  That is a mistake that a lot of modern films make.  They get carried away with the technique of the special effects and forget about telling the story well.

Speaking of Toy Theatre, some of you may be wondering about what has happened to the other half of my Toy Theatre adventures in Blackpool.  I was aware that I hadn’t posted anything for a while and thought I would get this one out quickly while I work on finishing the Blackpool post, so eyes peeled for that coming soon!

I am also aware, that I am in the main, woefully ignorant of the history of a lot of the puppets etc. that I have photographed above.  I am also aware that I am getting very few comments on my blog, so please, please!  If you have any extra information on the things in this post please do contribute.  Equally, if you have an opinion on any of the things I’ve mentioned please say!  I would love to have a discussion with you!  Just click on the post title and a comment box and “sharing” options will appear at the bottom.

Goldilocks, Automata, Toy Theatre and Shadows!

Posted on by Collette Knowles
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If you’ve been wondering about my going quiet for some time.  The reason once again is that I have been very busy.

Having an audition for their production of “Goldilocks” at last gave me an excuse to visit the prestigious “Little Angel Theatre” in London.

I was unprepared for how small the building was, despite its name.  Had I not asked directions from a lady outside a cafe, I would not have expected to find a world famous puppet theatre down a very narrow alleyway that certainly didn’t look like a way through.

The building is surrounded by delightful gardens that were full of very tame squirrels and birds when I went for a little exploration outside.

Having arrived extremely early due to the awkward train times, (I got up at 5.00am for a 6.30am train from Lancaster), I was very thoughtfully made a cup of tea and was shown all around the theatre by Alex, the friendly “Front of House” manager.  His description of his role included that of “Bouncer” of undesirables from the building as well as the very worthy aim of taking the money off customers so that great art can continue to be made.

I was shown the backstage including the unique double marionette bridge for operating long string marionettes.  It was pointed out to me that those puppeteers on the front bridge, (downstage) would be operating their marionettes backwards, (the puppet facing them) and those on the back bridge, (upstage) would be operating them forwards, (the puppet facing away from them).  Just the thought of this gave me a great deal of respect for the marionettists who presumably were able to move from one to the other in the course of a show.

As a large number of puppets were being brought out of the cellar, (to be restrung and have costumes mended etc.) this meant that I was able to see right down into the cellar from the backstage area and also from the auditorium.  A lot of the puppets were being taken to be exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum, (a very good place to visit if you’re interested in the history of puppets and toy theatre).  I was most envious of the fact that they had enough storage space to keep all of the puppets from past productions, as I am always struggling to find room for my ever increasing puppet collection.

A lot of different events have been and will be commemorating the fact that The Little Angel Theatre is celebrating its 50th Anniversary.  One of the most exciting is the first ever production staged at the theatre, (“The Wild Night of the Witches) is being re-mounted with the original 50 year old marionettes, (I got a look at some of these backstage too).  A group of trainees who have been working with Ronnie Le Drew, (one of the leading marionette makers and performers in the country) will be having the opportunity to perform this historic show in September, (9th – 11th).

I also got to see the workshop, which was filled excitingly with various puppets and parts of puppets in various stages of completion.  One wall had a row of disembodied wooden puppet legs, which put me in mind of a surrealist can-can line-up.  I also spotted a genuine Sicilian rod puppet lurking in a corner.  It also contained a mock-up of the “Caliban” puppet from the R.S.C./Little Angel collaborative piece, “The Magician’s Daughter” based on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”.  I had been following the R.S.C.’s updates on this production through Twitter.  The actual puppet was probably tucked away in a corner of a cavernous basement at the R.S.C. somewhere.  I had been particularly interested in that production because Rough Magic Theatre’s first show was also a version of “The Tempest” with puppets, live action and live music.

There were many other exciting things to be seen and I was actually shown round twice, as I went round with the other auditionees as well, when they arrived.  I kept spotting more and more puppets where ever I looked.  I also spotted some automata, some of which were used in past productions.  Another was on display to amuse the visitors and depicted the “Frog Prince” story.  It unfortunately was not fully operational on my visit, but I encountered the man who had made it, (Jan Zalud) and he recommended me to look into the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre if I was interested in automata.  The video above is of one of their exhibitions.  He also gave me a link to his own site.

I have also been slogging on with the “Edward Lear’s Nonsense” Shadow puppets, for Skipton Puppet Festival, (24th Sept) but there is a lot still to do.  I have successfully learned the tune I composed now though.

Tim and I have also been invited to visit Ted & Enid Hawkins in Blackpool on Sunday.  We met them at the Vischmarkt Papierentheater Festival, but never got to see each other’s shows.  We will be doing our “Hansel & Gretel” for them, and they shall do their pop-up “Treasure Island” for us.  We have also been promised a look at Ted’s Toy Theatre den, with lots of exciting “stuff” therein!  I shall be taking photos and will let you know all about it afterwards.  All the best till then!