An international festival celebrating puppetry, visual theatre and animation is getting ready to take to the stage at Norwich Puppet Theatre.
Manipulate is returning to the city venue for the fourth year and the festival will present work from around the world, including Russia, Belgium, America and across the UK. Manipulate begins on January 31 and runs until February 7.
'It should be a really exciting week of cutting edge, world class theatre and film,' said Joy Haynes, Norwich Puppet Theatre director.
'We are keen to engage with adult audiences to show that puppet theatre has a lot to offer people of all ages. This is a festival for adults and the shows can be quite dark and exciting, and explore some really interesting areas of the human existence.'
Manipulate kicks off with That's It, a show by Belgian company Sandman which asks 'where does dreaming end and reality begin?'
Rouge28 Theatre will present Kwaidan, a work-in-progress inspired by Japanese ghost stories and horror movies, while Animated Nightmares will see BAFTA-nominated animator Robert Morgan present a selection of films. Theatre AKHE, a Russian company described as masters of the avant-garde, will be bringing the show Mr Carmen, while Clementine the Living Fashion Doll will present the Golden Clementine Awards. Sandglass Theatre will present a classic puppet production called Autumn Portraits, while Ramesh Meyyappan's Butterfly is an adaptation of the tragic tale of Madame Butterfly.
There are also masterclasses in shadow theatre by Fabrizio Montecchi from Italy, and object theatre by Agnès Limbos from Belgium.
Manipulate is presented in partnership with Puppet Animation Scotland. For more details visit www.puppettheatre.co.uk or call the box office on 01603 629921.
• Do you have a Norwich arts story? Email arts correspondent Emma Knights at emma.knights@archant.co.uk
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