Red Riding Hood at Norwich Puppet Theatre, Dec 2011

Art & Theatre / charities / Events in Norfolk and Suffolk December 20, 2011

A major new Norwich Puppet Theatre production of Red Riding Hood will open for the Christmas season with a gala performance on Saturday 17 December 2011

Red Riding Hood, a major new production by Norwich Puppet Theatre, opens with a special gala performance on the evening of Saturday 17 December and then runs until Saturday 31 December. This brand new adaptation of a classic folk-tale will delight audiences of all ages and has been funded Arts Council England Grant through the National Lottery. The show is directed by Peter O’Rourke who began his career as a puppeteer at Norwich Puppet Theatre and has gone on to work as a puppet-maker with many renowned companies including Spitting Image. A week of schools performances will be staged from Monday 12 – Friday 16 December (SOLD OUT) offering children a chance to see the show ahead of the general public (see Notes to Editors for schools booking information). Tickets for the gala and main performances are on sale now (see Notes to Editors for more details). Following the run in Norwich, Red Riding Hood will be performed at the Little Angel Theatre in London before touring the UK.

Norwich Puppet Theatre’s new production is a wonderful adaption of the much-loved classic folk-tale Red Riding Hood. The story takes some unexpected turns as the little heroine, with some help from two washer women, pits her wits against the wolf she encounters in the dark forest. The show has been written by Tim Kane and has a witty script, which is certain to bring a smile to the faces of children and adults alike. With 18 fantastic puppets made especially for the production and expert puppeteers, the show guarantees to be an innovative visual feast. Original music and songs for Red Riding Hood by Ben Glasstone bring further humour and vibrancy, and the chance for audiences to participate. See Notes to Editors for biographies of Tim Kane and Ben Glasstone).

Red Riding Hood has been designed and directed by Peter O’Rourke. A freelance designer, director and puppet maker, O’Rourke began his career working as a puppeteer at Norwich Puppet Theatre. Since then he has been involved in a variety of projects in the role of puppet maker, collaborating with and working for many renowned companies. These include The Little Angel Theatre, Theatre Rites, Tam Tam Theatre, Playboard Puppets, The Lyric Hammersmith, Lost and Found Theatre, Knee-high Theatre and Spitting Image.

Peter O’Rourke, Designer and Director of Red Riding Hood, said: I got my first job in puppetry at Norwich Puppet Theatre; nearly 30 years ago on a production of ‘Alice in Wonderland’, so I was very excited to be invited back to direct and design this year’s Christmas show. My first thoughts on being invited were to ask Tim Kane (writer) and Ben Glasstone (composer) if they would like to collaborate on this project – I have worked with them on other shows and have always had a good working relationship them and value their skills.

My job as director, designer and puppet-maker entails working in close collaboration with the writer and composer from the project’s genesis, storyboarding it all in my head and keeping an eye on the feasibility of realising each scene with (in this case) two puppeteers. This then forms the way the puppets are constructed. Also important, is to keep in mind the contrasts of light and shade between scenes and questioning where the spoken word carries the story forward, and where, for instance, can we let music and images do the work?

We are in the middle of rehearsals at the moment and the puppeteers (Shane Connolly and Zannie Fraser) have a lot to take on board. It is a pleasure to be working with them and the team at Norwich Puppet Theatre who are making us very welcome.”

Red Riding Hood is the first major show produced independently by Norwich Puppet Theatre since 2008. It signals a new phase in the life of the Theatre, which has been shaping a new vision for its future over the past few years. Joy Haynes, the recently appointed Director of Norwich Puppet Theatre, explained: “Norwich Puppet Theatre has been working hard to ensure that it thrives in the future. We are very grateful to the grant bodies, funders, the City and County Councils, businesses and local people who continue to support us. We are also immensely excited about the coming years during which we intend to build on our reputation and experience to become recognised not only as an asset for Norwich and the region but also as a centre of excellence for puppetry nationally and internationally. To this end we will be developing innovative new productions to show at the Theatre and to tour, working with schools and community groups, training new puppeteers and offering development opportunities for puppetry professionals. We have our first ‘manipulate’ festival of international contemporary puppetry for adults, organised in collaboration with Puppetry Animation Scotland, at the start of February. I hope people will take the opportunity to try something different and come and see some outstanding puppetry theatre from across Europe on their doorstep”.

puppettheatre.co.uk

Support
Red Riding Hood is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Media partner, Norwich Magazine

Schools Performances – SOLD OUT
Twice daily (morning and afternoon)
Monday 12 December – Friday 16 December
Bookings: call 01603 615564 or email [email protected]
Tickets: £4 per child, 1 adult free with every 10 children, additional adult tickets £4

Gala Performance
Saturday 17 December
Drinks reception 6.45pm, show starts at 7.30pm
After party 8.30pm – 10pm
Encouraged dress code is ‘gala glamour’ and black tie
Bookings: call 01603 629921 (box office is open Monday – Friday 9.30am to 5pm and from 9.30am on performance or workshop Saturdays. An answerphone service operates at other times)
Tickets (adults only): £15, £10 concessions

Other Performance, Dates and Times
Monday 19 December at 2.30pm
Tuesday 20 December at 11am (baby-friendly performance) and 2.30pm
Wednesday 21, Thursday 22 and Friday 23 December at 2.30pm
Saturday 24 December at 11am
Monday 26 – Saturday 31 December at 2.30pm each day

Booking for Other Performances
Call 01603 629921
The box office is open Monday – Friday 9.30am to 5pm and from 9.30am on performance or workshop Saturdays. An answerphone service operates at other times
(There is a surcharge of 50p per booking on all card and cheque payments and a 50p charge for ticket postage. All tickets are non-refundable unless a performance is cancelled)

Tickets can also be booked on-line through the UEASU ticket booking office – visit www.puppettheatre.co.uk
(Please note there is a £1.50 per ticket surcharge for this service)

Children under the age of 3 years can only be admitted to the auditorium where specified in the programme as baby-friendly performances

Tickets
Adults £7, children £5
Concessions £5.50
Go4Less child £3
Family ticket £20 (2 adults + 2 children or 1 adult + 3 children)

Biographical Information

Tim Kane
Previous writing for the theatre includes The Mouse Queen, co-written with Ben Glasstone, first produced at The Little Angel and subsequently performed at The Polka, Unicorn and Hampstead Theatres in London and The New Victory, New York. Also for The Little Angel, adaptations of Roald Dahl’s The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me and Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Other work includes Jeffrey Cobb’s Stress Management Roadshow, at BAC and Edinburgh.

As an actor Tim’s work includes Leonard the Lion in The Mouse Queen; Play Antarctica at The Unicorn; Through The Woods for Birmingham Rep and Teatro Kismet, Italy; Woyzeck and Treasure Island at The Tobacco Factory, Bristol; Cooking The Books at MAC; Puck in a national tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Leonce and Lena and Epitaph For The Whales at The Gate; Ryder at The Pleasance; and Brink for the British Festival of Visual Theatre. Television includes Broken News, a comedy for BBC.

Ben Glasstone
Ben is a composer, writer and performer. Recent work includes: score for The Man with the Luggage (Trestle), music and lyrics for The Tempest (The Royal Shakespeare Company/Little Angel) and an adaptation of Quentin Blake’s picture books, All Join In (Polka Theatre 2011). His musicals include The Mouse Queen (book co-written with Tim Kane) (Little Angel, Hampstead, Unicorn and New Victory, off-Broadway). He has written music and lyrics for many shows at Little Angel: Fantastic Mr Fox, 2005-2010 (five tours including RSC), The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me, 2008 and Alice in Wonderland, 2010. Scores and songs for other theatre include: Pinocchio, 2001/08 (Unicorn Theatre at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and Polka Theatre), How to Beat a Giant, 2007 (Unicorn), Goldilocks, 2003, (Lyric Hammersmith and WAC) and shows for Tricycle, Trestle, Gate, Half Moon as well as collaborations with companies such as Unpacked, Quicksilver and Indefinite Articles. He is currently developing a new musical, The Adventures of Thunder and Coal with his company Nonesuch Theatre. He has led theatre and composing education projects for the BBC , The Royal Opera House, Roundhouse, Unicorn, Philharmonia Orchestra and many others and his songs for children are published by Faber and A and C Black.