The 2011 SUSPENSE London Puppetry Festival takes place at Little Angel Theatre and ten other venues from 28 October to 6 November. The festival of adult puppetry follows the huge acclaim of the 2009 SUSPENSE Festival, which won the Fringe Report Best Festival Award. Over 30 companies will be presenting work alongside a programme of workshops and seminars. Renowned international companies will provide new insights for UK puppeteers and audiences.
Other Festival highlights include GREAT SMALL WORKS (USA) - a political triple bill by the company at the forefront of the Toy Theatre movement; INVISIBLE THREAD (formerly Faulty Optic, UK) in association with the Mime Festival (both at Little Angel) and the PUPPET GRINDER CABARET finale at Jacksons Lane.
SUSPENSE explodes the myths surrounding puppetry in this country, proving conclusively that puppetry isn't just for kids. The festival showcases a range of contemporary work from the UK and abroad.The Little Angel Theatre, currently celebrating its 50th birthday, has flown the flag of puppetry in the UK since 1961, offering opportunities for performance, research, education and professional training in this artform.Venues of SUSPENSE 2011
The other venues hosting events are Central School of Speech and Drama, Jacksons Lane Theatre, New Diorama Theatre*, Pleasance Theatre, Puppet Theatre Barge, Rosemary Branch Theatre, Roundhouse*, Tour de Force Theatre*, The V & A* and Wilton's Music Hall.* New festival venues are marked with an asterisk.
Companies and Artists in SUSPENSE 2011
Companies and artists taking part in SUSPENSE include: Effigy Actorum, Eye Spy, Flabbergast, Folded Feather, GOT Company and Bluebird Puppets, Great Small Works, Hit Gelamp, Indefinite Articles, Invisible Thread, Maison Foo, Mischa Twitchin and George Tomlinson, Moving Stage Marionette Company, Pangolin's Teatime, Pickled Image, Rouge28 Theatre, Sandglass Theatre, Susan Beattie, Wattle and Daub Figure Theatre, Wild Theatre, Yas-e-Tamam.
A full calendar of festival events, including all dates and explaining which companies are at which venues, is found on the dedicated festival website: www.suspensefestival.com. A brochure is also available.Peter Glanville, Artistic Director of Little Angel and of SUSPENSE, says,
"Following the huge success of the inaugural SUSPENSE Festival in 2009, I am delighted to present an even broader and more radical programme of puppetry shows for adult audiences this year. 2009 proved that there is a real appetite for this work and 2011 will be even more challenging and exciting."
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