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From Tehran To Torrensville
Puppet Biz in the 2011 Adelaide Fringe
Puppet Palace in the Garden of Unearthly Delights is again the centre of the
Australian puppetry world when we present the Adelaide Fringe’s only
dedicated puppetry venue. With almost two hundred shows over the four
week season Puppet Palace is Australia’s largest annual puppetry performance
project. Started in 2007, the Puppet Palace is now a sought after fixture by
audiences in the Adelaide Fringe introducing the Adelaide public to a variety of puppet shows ranging from the
purely traditional to the really wild and wacky. In 2010 over 8,000 people attended shows in the Puppet Palace
venue.
With a new show taking to the stage every hour, the venue relies on presenting only portable puppet shows.
This year’s program sees the Puppet Palace venue continue to develop this rapid‐fire presentation of shows
with no less than four international companies taking part in our packed 2011 program.
Highlights of the 2011 program include a four week season by the For family audiences we are especially proud to
present Appletree Puppet Company from Iran with their delightful traditional production of Pahlevan Kachal
(The Bald Hero), an internationally acclaimed show telling a traditional Persian folk‐tale. Appletree is four
talented sisters from Tehran who are at the forefront of the Iranian puppetry revival. All their shows are
accompanied by exquisite live Persian music. Canadian shadow‐puppet genius Jeff Achem (aka Mr Bunk) will
present a brand new shadow puppetry show called ‘Swamp Juice which promises to be spectacular. We are
pleased to be hosting Stringbean Puppet Company a young company from Wellington, New Zealand with a
whimsical Italian‐inspired show featuring pasta‐making marionettes and a Neopolitan‐style Polichinello show.
Also from new Zealand, Puppet Palace hosts TABLO The Notional Theatre of New Zealand, a highly creative visual
theatre/puppetry company with intriguing roving characters & sketches…
Puppet Palace and Pooka Puppets break new ground this year with the launch of a provocative new production
called “Punch and Judy Take Afghanistan’ an adult puppet production that combines spoof, political satire and
lashings of slapstick violence. It features the talents of Australia’s Three Professors of Punch and Melbourne’s
internationally recognised puppet‐maker Chris Van Der Craats.
Puppet Palace in 2010 had a number of favourite South Australian shows that will again be returning to delight
both families and adults. We will again be presenting the hilarious ‘in your face’ puppet rock opera Tyrannasaurus
Sex, the pathetic story of Bob the Penis’s journey through the country of SizeMatters only to find fulfillment at the
other side. Our most popular family show The Amazing Drumming Monkeys ‘Save The Planet’ sees the two
intrepid mammals solve global warming through acts of kindness, Lindi Jane, Australia’s leading female
ventriloquist presents her superb Snaps Kakadu Club (Lindi Jane was an award winner in Dubai this year) and of
course we will be presenting both the family and late night versions of traditional Seaside Punch and Judy by
Professor’s Haig & Preston. We see the return of Pooka Puppet’s hit‐production of ‘Pigs In Wigs’ the funky
fairytale version of the classic tale from the Big Bad Wolf’s perspective. For late night owls Puppet Palace goes
into object animation of a different kind with acclaimed cards and cabaret artiste Tony Roberts presenting his
intriguing comedy‐card show Late Nite Aces Hi
In all, you’ll have to agree… Puppets are looking good for the 2011 Adelaide Fringe Festival! Come and enjoy!
The 2011 Puppet Palace Program is presented by Puppet Palace Project Company
in association with The Garden of Unearthly Delights and Strut’n Fret Productions.
For more information please contact:
Keith Preston & Lachlan Haig Mob: 0418 839 264 Email: Artbeatkp@aol.com Web: www.puppetpalace.com.au