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Little Angel's Celebratory Programme for the Autumn and Winter Season
On 24 November 1961, an abandoned building in Islington was occupied by a group of puppeteers. Led by John and Lyndie Wright, they took this former temperance hall and created something unique in London: a theatre specially designed for children’s marionette shows. From these beginnings, the Little Angel Theatre has been instrumental in both supporting the development of puppetry and entertaining families in the UK and across the world. Even the lockdown has proved no barrier to the company's mission, as their digital programmes reaches across the globe.
Artistic director Samantha Lane and executive director Peta Swindall are excited by Little Angel's celebratory programme for the Autumn and Winter season. "As we emerge from the pandemic and welcome live audiences back to Little Angel Theatre after such a challenging time, we are proud to announce a live/digital hybrid season of bold and ambitious new work including two major new shows that don’t shy away from big issues".
There’s a Rang-Tan in my Bedroom and Other Stories features a voiceover by Emma Thompson and is explicit in its engagement with political issues: it supports the work of Greenpeace and Meat Free Monday. With a message that no one is too small to make a difference, it is accompanied by digital content which allows audiences to watch at home and explore the issues discussed in the production, especially sustainability and climate change.
The Wishing Tree, meanwhile, is a show aimed at 5 to 11 year olds and explores the importance of friendship and helping those in need. Based on a new poem by Joseph Coelho, The Wishing Tree will be accompanied by an exhibition of six trees designed for use with local children and the art-works made by young people in response to them.
"A new adaptation of Piers Torday’s remarkable novel There May be a Castle will enchant audiences over Christmas with its magical world of monsters, knights and wizards", add Lane and Swindell. Also showing will be Benji Davies’ tender and heart-warming tale The Storm Whale, a co-production with York Theatre Royal, The Marlowe Theatre and Engine House.
The changing nature of performance over the past two years (the theatre was closed from March 2020) has seen Little Angle make imaginative use of the internet's potential to reach new audiences. Watch, Make, Share has achieved 13,800 new subscribers from 95 countries, with an overall reach of 7.5 million people. Yet the return to live, in-person performance allows the theatre to celebrate its anniversary in the style that has made it famous for innovation, stimulating imaginations and inspiring the young and old with the magic power of puppetry.
For further information, see Little Angel's website
