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In 1961 a troupe of enthusiastic puppeteers under the leadership of South African master, John Wright, found a derelict temperance hall in Islington and transformed it into a magical little theatre, specially designed for children and for the presentation of marionette shows. It opened on Saturday 24th November 1961. Over the next 30 years, The Little Angel company created and performed over 30 full-scale shows. They toured all over the UK and abroad, absorbed new styles by participating in International puppet festivals (including Europe, USA and the Far East), collaborated with musicians (including Daniel Barenboim and Robert Zeilger) on large-scale productions for the South Bank and Barbican Centres, and provided a constant source of inspiration and training for a new generation of puppeteers and performers. Those in the know still find their way to Dagmar Passage from all over the world. After John Wright died in 1991, the work of the theatre continued apace under Lyndie Wright. In 1993 Christopher Leith, who originally learned his craft at The Little Angel Theatre many years before, himself became the theatre director. During the following seven years he encouraged new collaborations with writers, directors, designers and performers, including John Agard, Ken Campbell, Gegory Motton and Henk Shutt. Touring was hugely developed until, as well as a resident company working throughout the year at the theatre's Islington home base, up to 3 touring companies wer also on the road at any one time. Twenty new productions were created, including such Little Angel classics as The Sleeping Beauty; Joey Grimaldi King of Clowns and The Secret Garden, and the puppet operas Judith and Holofernes by David Lang for ENO and Philomen and Baucis, conducted by Trevor Pinnock, for the Haydn Festival at Eisenstadt, Austria (revived in 2003) The Little Angel Theatre entered the new millennium with Loretta Howells as its new Artistic Producer, and as of January 2004, Steve Tiplady took over as the company's new Artistic Director. Since January 2006 Peter Glanville, formerly Artistic Director of Kazzum, has been in post as Artistic Director. The company continues to be respected both throughout the UK and abroad for the artistic quality of its productions, whether at its home base or on tour, nationally and internationally, to schools, community centres and arts venues, and loved by children and adults alike. Our productions now use every type
of puppet and draw their themes, styles and stories from a wide
range of cultural traditions. We also programme a wide variety of
visiting puppet companies into our theatre, giving London
audiences a marvellous opportunity to experience the diversity of
our art form. |
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