SYDNEY PUPPET THEATRE

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News and Events


We were invited to take Nella’s Wings (Nella’s Wings) to the coastal city of Quanzhou in China to perform at the 6th edition of this UNIMA Puppet Festival.

Nella performed to 1100 enthusiastic and appreciative children in 2 days.

It was great to see the power of puppetry crossing cultural and linguistic divides.


3 Weeks In Spring - A new musical by Ian Gerrard and Endymion Productions at the State Theatre, Sydney. Duffy the Donkey was our first lifesize, fully articulated quadruped and was greatly loved by audiences of this show about the Gallipoli experience.  Actor Lincoln Elliott (playing Pte. Simpson) immediately embraced the joy of performing with a scene-stealing puppet.

Puppeteers - BJ Weule and Steve Coupe

Photo - Rebeccalynne Photography


2019 - a wonderfully busy year for the Sydney Puppet Theatre with performances, puppet making commissions and touring.


Gumbaynngirr Project No 2

Following a very successful week long workshop in 2018 with teenagers from the Gumbaynngirr mob from the Nambucca NSW area we were invited to return and work with a new bunch of kids. We all had the privilege of learning from the very articulate and generous Gumbaynngirr elders. This project was managed by 3rd Space Mob.


After being immersed in Culture and listening to stories given by the elders the kids chose the stories that they wanted to explore theatrically.

Shadow puppetry and hand puppets proved to be great storytelling media and a presentation was given at the local primary school at the end of the weeks work. It was so heartening to see kids who were so shy at the beginning of the workshop participate with gusto and commitment to the making and the performing.

Our thanks to the many elders including Aunties Sha, Edrica and Maureen; to Uncles Michael, Martin, Bud, Troy, R.J and to Ricky and Shannon; to Rowena McGregor for inviting us and organising the event and to Lucy Nias who added her design and making eye to the project.


Two Challenging Puppet Building Commissions

At the left are three 35cm tall marionettes, each with their own movement specialties built for Recruitment Hive - a Canberra based company.

Puppet designers and builders - Sue Wallace and Steve Coupe


At the right - Molly the Pill - an MDMA puppet for drug education commissioned by QPI media.  

Puppet builders - Sue Wallace and Lucy Nias.

2020 - a quieter year for the Sydney Puppet Theatre with our theatre closed for 6 months.


ARTISTS OF THE ROUND YARD (ARY) AT RETFORD PARK.

In November we participated in The Southern Highlands Artstrail as members of ARY, contributing a new sculpture composed entirely of coloured pencils, entitled “WADING IN”.  We also designed and made 14 individual “3D masks” to be exhibited.

3D Masks at Retford Park


ImaginArta Puppet Centre REOPENED

with a very special live music and puppetry event on October 4, 2020 and SOLD OUT 3 shows.

Sydney Puppet Theatre presented “A Package for Granny” with original music for flute and cello composed by Jim Coyle.



“WADING IN” by Sue Wallace

Music originally commissioned for the 2019 Sydney Chamber Music Festival


The Artists - UMBERTO CLERICI, principal cellist with the SSO

                  BRIDGET BOLLIGER (flute) AD Sydney Chamber Music Festival

                  SYDNEY PUPPET THEATRE, Sue Wallace & Steve Coupe

                  JIM COYLE, composer


2021

6 FEET and UP - A Creative Workshop at ImaginArta’s Theatre.

Inspired by the resilience of people and nature after the 2019/2020 bush fires, "6 Feet and Up" celebrates the insects that are so vital to the health of our environment. Over 8 sessions in January 2021, adults and children designed and constructed insect puppets and sculptures, wrote about them, recorded their stories and then exhibited their creations.
































This project was made possible through a Social Recovery Small Grant from the Wingecarribee Shire Council. It was a community project with ImaginArta Puppet Centre and MENTAL Gallery in the Southern Highlands region of NSW, Australia.


The wonderful creative team guiding the project was

Sue Wallace and Steve Coupe from Sydney Puppet Theatre and ImaginArta Puppet Centre

Tanya Ford (writing)

Lucy Nias (designer)

Sergei Netchaef from MENTAL Gallery (recording and exhibition curator)


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SYDNEY PUPPET THEATRE

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