PuppetCraft is delighted to be working again with celebrated poet/playwright Adrian Mitchell,
following the phenomenal success of our earlier collaboration on Sir Fool's Quest.

PuppetCraft
presents
Nobody Rides The Unicorn
Written by Adrian Mitchell and Sasha Mitchell
Directed by John Roberts
Sound design by Rachel Miller
Songs composed by Andrew Dickson


Based on the book
- a classic of modern fiction - by Adrian Mitchell, illustrated by Stephen Lambert

A puppet show for everyone 4 years and up.

Superbly crafted puppets, original live music,
lyrical words and song, sound effects
and moments of unexpected magic,
blend to tell this touching tale.

The greedy King of Joppardy and
cunning Doctor Slythe trick an innocent young girl, Zoe,
into helping them capture a Unicorn.
When she realises that they plan to take the
Unicorn's magical horn,
Zoe knows she must set the Unicorn free…
But will she be putting herself in terrible danger?

 

  • For Theatres, Schools, Village Halls and Festivals throughout the South West of England.
  • For 4 to 11 year olds and their families.
  • 50 minutes.
  • Audience size: up to 180.
  • Stage space requirement: 19ft x 12ft x 10ft high.
  • Performed by one puppeteer and a musician.
  • Puppet workshops linked to the show will be available.
Project-funded by


Zoe and the Unicorn

Click on drawing for a large download: 2.45MB

Image downloads and credits

All publicity must give this credit with the drawing:
Drawing © Stephen Lambert

All publicity for the show must give this credit:


PuppetCraft
presents
Nobody Rides The Unicorn
Written by Adrian Mitchell and Sasha Mitchell
Directed by John Roberts
Sound design by Rachel Miller
Songs composed by Andrew Dickson


Based on the book - a classic of modern fiction -
by Adrian Mitchell, illustrated by Stephen Lambert


A
puppet show for everyone 4 years and up



Zoe and the Unicorn
Click on drawing for a large download: 1.41MB
 
The Arts Council England logo should be displayed at the bottom right-hand side of publicity.

Click on logo for a large download: 112KB

The Team

  • We are delighted to be working on a show written for us by celebrated poet/playwright Adrian Mitchell and his daughter Sasha Mitchell.
  • Rachel Miller, musician and sound designer, has created atmospheric textures of sounds and music, played and captured 'before your very eyes' using the latest digital sound technology.
  • Songs have been composed by Andrew Dickson - a hugely prolific multi-faceted musician - whose work extends from theatre-in-education to film scores, including the most recent hit movie Vera Drake.
  • John Roberts, PuppetCraft's artistic director, has designed and directed.
  • The puppets and sets are based on Stephen Lambert's beautiful illustrations in the book.
  • Textile artist Sue Field has yet again woven her magic to create the rich, imaginative look that has become PuppetCraft's style.
  • Puppeteer for the show is either James Richardson or John Roberts.
  • Music is played by Rachel Miller or Joanna White.
A new production in the making...
A diary of how this show was made. Notes from the director.
 
  • Sometime early in 2004: I stumble across a beautiful little children's picture book in a shop... flipping through it I am enchanted by the paintings and by the gentle innocence of the story. The dust cover tells me the artist lives in Cornwall... not far from me, and then I realise the author is Adrian Mitchell.
    Adrian has written a script for PuppetCraft before: Sir Fool's Quest, the biggest production we have ever done.
  • I rushed to a phone and rang Adrian to see if he would like to adapt the story for us.
  • He was pleased I wanted to do his story as a puppet show... so I traveled to London to meet and discus plans. It was agreed he and his daughter Sasha would adapt the book into a script...
  • I also talked to Adrian about him writing a script for PuppetCraft of a Greek myth.
  • Suddenly there were two new shows we wanted to do... so time to look for funding.
  • It took a month of hard work to get through mountains of paperwork, designs, budgets, and many, many cups of tea before a grant application was ready to submit to the Arts Council England, South West.
  • All we could do then was wait for 3 months, before we would be told if we had the grant and could go ahead.... or NOT!
  • January 2005: We have just heard that PuppetCraft has been awarded a grant to make these two shows possible.
  • February has been spent designing the stage, puppets and publicity for the Unicorn show, and researching video projectors, glow-in-the-dark wire and selling the show to villages, schools and theatres.
  • During March puppets, the stage and set have been started, samples of fabric, wool, beads, etc have been collected, equipment has been ordered, and PuppetCraft's work space is bulging! Welding has flashed, woodchips have flown, new digital sound kits have buzzed....
  • April has seen activity increasing: with the first try-out of the new stage and 3 days of working with composer, musician, puppet operator, writers and director.
  • May is our last month of making, before rehearsals start, so many hands are busy, carving, shaping, sowing, painting, welding, etc.
  • Booking are coming in well, with extra weeks being set aside for touring to villages in Devon and Cornwall.
  • Dublin International Puppet Festival has asked if they can have the show. A puppet festival in Germany has also asked... but we will need to delay this till next year!
  • 26th June 2005: At last the show is on!!!!! to great appreciation by the audience and those who wrote and composed for the show. The organisers were delighted to get a sold out show.




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