Strings Attached: Upfront Puppet Theatre
Tucked away in the unsupecting setting of Hutton in the Forest, is one of only four puppet theatres in England.
For the last five years, Upfront Puppet Theatre has been putting smiles on faces of all ages, with the unique experience of puppet shows that are so rarely found today.
Located at Upfront Arts Venue, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, the puppet theatre started life in a small, 80 seat performance space in the art gallery. Proving a hit with audiences and local schools, in 2012 Upfront Puppet Theatre was founded as a not-for-profit company. The charity has since received £90,000 from Arts Council England, European funding and a further £20,000 was raised by local people. This combined generosity has funded the build of a brand new theatre building, a fully equipped space for puppet performance and a fruitful resource for the local area.
The one pulling the strings, theatre designer John Parkinson has held a lifelong ambition to build a puppet theatre, he explained: “I think masks and puppets have always fascinated me because they are a way of helping people to suspend their disbelief, they want to believe in them and enter the magic world.”
John continued: “I had a puppet theatre when I was at school, with marionettes. I really loved the way people would warm to them and seemed to believe they were real. When I was a young person, it enabled me to build a whole little theatre, because I loved the arts.”
John, who trained at the English National Opera, has worked as a theatre designer all over the north of England and would design puppets into the shows wherever he could. For a long time, John was part of the original Blue Box theatre in Keswick and it was there that he fell in love with Cumbria, he said: “While I was there I thought a puppet theatre would be great, because it’s something good for younger people to do – if your mum and dad have taken you up mountains all day, how lovely to then have the possibility of going to see a puppet show.”
John moved to Cumbria with his wife Elaine, a former teacher and they opened the Upfront Arts Venue. Their puppet theatre is unique in that, as well as a large pit in the floor for rod puppets to be operated from below, the two bridges – which span the space and allow string puppets or marionettes to be operated from above – can roll to anywhere on the stage, giving the puppets and their masters more freedom. On top of this, the space can also convert to a regular theatre which hosts music events to generate income, all of which goes straight back into the charity.
John also visits local schools giving puppet making workshops, the fact that pupils can see their creations come to life in a real-life puppet theatre adds an exciting dimension. John believes puppets offer a great introduction to theatre for young people, he said: “When we do our after-show talks, seeing the way they are so fascinated with the puppets and how they work, is really rewarding.”
So passionate is John about inspiring the next generations of thespians, students are even trained in the building, he added: “I think we’re getting a lot of people interested in theatre, we’ve had people who have gone onto become professional practitioners in a real theatre because of their experiences here.”
The resident company now design and perform the puppet shows, using the workshops on site. With costumes and set to be designed, a script to be written, lighting and special effects to be perfected, a production usually takes around two months to put together. Right now work is well underway on the period costumes for their upcoming Christmas show, Cinderella. From the Ugly Sisters in their over-the-top ball gowns, to the magic pumpkin coach, a great deal of hard work goes into producing a spectacular show.
John said: “As a theatre designer, the puppet theatre gives me the chance to have a whole miniature theatre, at my own house. You can build huge palaces inside a puppet theatre that you wouldn’t be able to do in a large theatre.”
But the real punch line comes from seeing the joy that the puppets can bring, he added: “I really love the look on the faces of the children and the parents and grandparents who bring them. It’s a really beautiful old fashioned art form, that doesn’t have enough heroes in this country.”
Visit www.up-front.com
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