Little Angel Theatre Opens MACBETH Tonight

Little Angel Theatre presents one of Shakespeare's most bloodthirsty tragedies. Following their previous collaborations with The RSC on Venus and Adonis and The Tempest, experience the clawing ambition and sweeping hysteria of Macbeth in this gripping new puppetry production, staged at the intimate Little Angel Theatre, Islington.

The production is being directed and adapted by Little Angel's Artistic Director Peter Glanville (The Tempest), with music composed by James Hesford (The Tear Thief) and puppets designed by Lyndie Wright (A VERY OLD Man with Enormous Wings).

Macbeth previews from 5th October, with opening press night tonight 10th October at 7.30pm. The final performance is 10th November. Performances are Tuesday to Sunday at 7.30pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 3.30pm. Booking opens Monday 22nd July.

Macbeth is one of the highlights of this autumn's SUSPENSE London Puppetry Festival. SUSPENSE 2013 takes place across 12 venues over 10 days from 25th October to 3rd November.

This is only the third incarnation of SUSPENSE London Puppetry Festival, which is produced by Little Angel Theatre, but in a short time it has become one of the leading puppet festivals in the UK, and the only one dedicated to adult audiences. SUSPENSE showcases a diverse range of contemporary work from UK and international practitioners, and explodes the myth that puppetry is just for kids. This year's programme presents work by more than 20 companies, including three top European companies alongside the best of British puppetry. An extensive training programme complements the performances on offer, including partnership events with Puppet Centre and British UNIMA.

A number of venues return to be part of SUSPENSE 2013. Following our own production of Macbeth, Little Angel Theatre will host the world famous Cie Philippe Genty (France) with their production of Dustpan Odyssey, making its London debut after a run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The V&A hosts a range of free lectures and film screenings alongside a new production by Metta Theatre. New Diorama Theatre hosts Spanish company La Retrete de Dorian Gray's Rúa Aire, blowing a breath of fresh air into puppetry and showing it is not easy to be a balloon. NDT also present The Engineer's Thumb by Dotted Line Theatre, following its premiere during Little Angel FIRSTS. At the Puppet Theatre Barge, London's only other dedicated puppetry venue, there is an opportunity to see All He Fears by Howard Barker, which was previously shown at the Mainz International Festival of Drama. A symposium focusing on Women in Puppet Theatre is presented by Royal Central School of Speech and Drama/Centre for Research into Objects and Puppetry in Performance, accompanied by linked workshops.

Jacksons Lane welcome Horse + Bamboo with their touring production of Angus: Weaver of Grass and For Their Own Good by United Artists, as well as hosting the festival closing party which sees a return of the infamous Puppet Grinder Cabaret. Rosemary Branch Theatre present three productions, including London International Mime Festival hit Les Hommes Vides by Invisible Thread.

Pleasance Theatre will be a hive of activity, with three different spaces devoted to the festival. In the main theatre Blind Summit give a taste of the treats to come with a scratch performance of their new work, and Pickled Image's new production The Shop of Little Horrors introduces us to a macabre puppetry world. The extraordinary Duda Paiva Company (Netherlands) present their international puppetry sensation Bastard, making its UK premiere. There is room for emerging talent too, with the Pleasance StageSpace showcasing a range of exciting new work by up and coming companies, and Touched Theatre create their performance of Blue on-site around the Pleasance building.

We welcome four new venue partners to the festival this year. Performances at BAC will bring the festival to new audiences in south London, after their appetite was whetted earlier in the year by the successful run of A VERY OLD Man with Enormous Wings (Little Angel/Kneehigh). As the UK's leading organisation supporting the professional development of actors, the Actors Centre, situated in the heart of the West End, will host a series of open access workshops as part of the festival. Little Angel Theatre will also be curating an exciting programme of workshops, masterclasses and Q&As for Actors Centre members during their Oct-Dec season. The Actors Centre's Tristan Bates Theatre, situated in the heart of the West End, will provide the perfect venue for performances by satirical shadow puppeteers The Great Puppet Horn and touring hit The Fantasist by Theatre Témoin. Raucous late night cabaret by Flabbergast Theatre's Boris & Sergey will make the King's Head Theatre the festival goer's final stop in an incredibly busy schedule.

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