E3: GIRAFFE UK PREMIERE

Hop Signor Puppet Theatre

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ALPHABETTI THEATRE

Monday 8th April 2019

6pm (40 mins)

Ages 6+ / adults

£9.50 / £8

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Although suitable for children, this beautiful multi-award winning show from Greece is just as mesmerising for adults. "Giraffe" is a table top puppet performance without words. A little boy wishes to buy a toy airplane. An old man who loves the sky wishes to fly high. And a money box, that has the shape of a giraffe, wishes it could be something more than just a keeper of coins. The wishes of our heroes intertwine in a story were life appears in every object that carries emotions and sentiments. Through their relationship with the giraffe, our heroes connect with their ability to love and to dream on. 

E4: OPENING NIGHT PUPPET CABARET

Various artists

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ALPHABETTI THEATRE

Monday 8th April 2019

8.30pm (90 mins with interval)

Ages 18+ / adults

£6 / £5

 

An evening of magic, burlesque, dance and mystery - all performed by a varied lineup of weird and wonderful puppets! Guided on our journey into the mystifying by oddball extraordinaire compere Nat Lunatrick, we will be dazzled by traditional Rajasthani dancing, relive the wonders of vaudeville, tame a prehistoric beast and witness a live possession. May contain puppet nudity and cannibalism. 

E6: JANET

Helenandjohn

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ALPHABETTI THEATRE

Tuesday 9th April 2019

7pm (45 mins)

Ages 14+ / adults

£9.50 / £8

 

"Janet" is a coming of age story, celebrating the life of Janet, an ordinary woman (played by a lump of dough), who dreams for something else beyond the inevitable. A very human story told by objects with a dark comic edge - a mix of Emmerdale and Monty Python, plus a pinch of B-movie horror. A show for those who love to play with their food and especially for those who enjoy a well baked loaf! Nominated for best theatre production and best actress at the Buxton Fringe. Winner of the John Beecher Memorial Award for most original, challenging work with high production values. 

E9: A SONG OF PLAGUE

Lost in the Fog

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ALPHABETTI THEATRE

Wednesday 10th April 2019

6.30pm (50 mins)

Ages 12+ / adults

£9.50 / £8

 

1665, death haunts the streets and rats flood the city. London has become dirty, polluted and dangerous. Houses are squeezed together and filth washes through the town and into the river. The city has had enough and nature intervenes. A doctor and his daughter fight to save the London they love in the face of an ever-growing plague. Live original music accompanied by haunting puppetry tells this intimate tale of family, revenge and sacrifice. 

E10: NOONE'S LAND UK PREMIERE

Merlin Puppet Theatre

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DANCE CITY

Wednesday 10th April 2019

8pm (60 mins)

Ages 4+ / adults

£12.50 / £10.50

 

The power of imagination combats reality through the eyes of a scarecrow. A lonely creature, eternally spiked in the ground at the same point. He opens his eyes and discovers the world around him ... but is initially disappointed with its limits, until he decides to make it his playground. Told through dark but heart-warming puppetry and visual effects, "Noone's Land" is a tale of freedom, creativity and the wonders that can be found around each one of us. Merlin Puppet Theatre of Germany/Greece have toured the world with their critically acclaimed show "Clowns' Houses" and are thrilled to present the UK premiere of their newest production in Newcastle. 

E11: ANOMALISA FILM SCREENING

Dir. Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman

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ALPHABETTI THEATRE

Wednesday 10th April 2019

9.30pm (90 mins)

Ages 18+ / adults

£4 / £3

 

Michael Stone - husband, father and respected author, is a man crippled by the mundanity of his life.  On a business trip to Cincinnati, where he's scheduled to speak at a convention of customer service professionals, Michael checks into the Fregoli Hotel and meets Lisa Hessleman, a socially awkward sales rep from Akron who may or may not be the love of his life. From Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson comes a darkly comedic and surreal stop-motion journey into a Kafkaesque nightmare. 

E13: TRANSMOGRAPHILES

Hopeful Monster Theatre

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ALPHABETTI THEATRE

Thursday 11th April 2019

7pm (30 mins)

Ages 5+ / adults

£6.50 / £5.50

 

Six hands move, morph and combine in unusual ways, creating unexpected creatures and characters. Travel with us though water, earth and air as we follow the journey from basic life forms to complex beasts in a surreal evolutionary narrative of shape shifting and transmutation. From an amalgamation of the words transmogrify and the combining form -phile, the name quite literally means 'things that like to transform in a magical and humorous manner'.

E14: STOP ANIMATION FILM NIGHT

+ PUPPETRY OPEN MIC

Various artists

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ALPHABETTI THEATRE

Thursday 11th April 2019

8pm (60 mins + 60 mins)

Ages 18+ / adults

Pay-as-you-feel (booking required)

 

Curated by our stop animation lead Lesley-Anne Rose, we present an evening of the very best stop animation short films. Featuring work from artists from all over the world, this hour-long selection will give you a glimpse into the possibilities and different styles of this unique art form. And if that wasn't enough, stay on after the films for our Puppetry Open Mic, where the stage is open to 5-minute puppetry, mask and object manipulation acts. Email us at info@newcastlepuppetryfestival.co.uk to register interest in performing or just turn up and hope for a spot!

E17: THE SEED CARRIERS

Stephen Mottram's Animata

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DANCE CITY

Friday 12th April 2019

7pm (55 mins)

Ages 16+ / adults

£12.50 / £10.50

 

Imagine a race of small creatures that look remarkably like humans, but are really more like insects or plants. They are THE SEED CARRIERS. They must develop their cunning to survive the ruthless social system in which they live. So with the aid of fabulous machines, they disguise themselves as birds, fish and insects. In conspiracy with Glyn Perrin's music, these puppets draw their audience into a beautiful, colourful world which becomes horrific and then haunting as our understanding of it starts to dawn. The Seed Carriers has become a classic work of animation theatre, winning several international theatre awards during tours in 18 countries. 

E18: SEASIDE TERROR

Odd Doll Puppetry

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ALPHABETTI THEATRE

Friday 12th April 2019

8.30pm (60 mins)

Ages 10+ / adults

£9.50 / £8

 

Odd Doll take a trip to the seaside, where they find more than they bargained for. The only other inhabitant of the dilapidated pier is a rather sinister ice cream man and he's got some very strange stories to tell. His mind-boggling collection of hysterical horrors includes Evil Seagulls, Zombie Donkeys and Bingo Hairballs. Stuffed with fun frights and ice cream chills, Seaside Terror is a celebration of the British horror and British holidays of the 1970s. Odd Doll use their trademark brew of puppetry, clown and specially composed music to fill the stage with nerve-shattering shocks. 

E25: COULROPHOBIA

Pickled Image

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DANCE CITY

Saturday 13th April 2019

7.30pm (75 mins)

Ages 16+ / adults

£12.50 / £10.50

 

Dik and Adam are Clowns! They couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag, let alone a surreal cardboard world. Why are they there and what are they supposed to be doing? They know something sinister is afoot (wearing really big shoes...) and they need to get out before it's too late. Join them on a ridiculous, anarchic, often hysterical and sometimes terrifying quest for freedom. A 75-minute show featuring slapstick, mime, puppetry and a LOT of cardboard. Contains disappointing nudity and some strong language. 

E26: BLOWOUT PARTY WITH HENGE

Henge + Offworld Dreamers

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ALPHABETTI THEATRE

Saturday 13th April 2019

9pm till late

Ages 18+ / adults

£6

 

Attention Earth! This is Henge! We come in the name of rave. We bring you the gift of cosmic dross - a kind of music new to your world. We have news - planet Earth is an experiment. Your species was sent codes from space, to help you love and dance. But your leaders grew scared. They hid the codes from you. Now your consciousness shrinks and they destroy your world with weapons of war. Ravelings of Earth rebel! Absorb the mutated frequencies of cosmic dross. There are no Earth words to describe these sounds. But you will learn how to love and dance again. This is your future. Put down the weapons. Unite. And colonise space.