The Walrus and The Carpenter Idolrich Theatre Company
Weekend Walrus Walkabout
Later this month, local theatre company, iDOLRiCH Theatre Rotto, offers brilliant free shows and workshops for children and their grown ups at various locations in Hastings & St Leonards.
The show, based on Lewis Carroll’s poem, The Walrus & The Carpenter, starts at The Stade Hall on Sunday 27 September, from 2-3pm.
Craft workshops are from 12 – 1pm also in The Stade Hall, where children/families are invited to help make seaside puppets for the actual show performed later the same afternoon. All welcome! No booking required!
The Walrus & the Carpenter show, performed by ‘Idolrich’ Artistic Director, Julia McLean and musician, Chris Embery, features this oddly matched pair (of Alice Through the Looking Glass fame), accompanied by a capricious Maid with Mop, making entertaining company for everyone along the Foreshore of Hastings & St Leonards.
Photo iDOLRiCH website
Loosely based on Lewis Carroll’s poem, this show/walkabout for all ages is led by a large, weepy Walrus puppet and his lugubrious, chippy companion. Expect hilarity, eye-watering recitation, music and slapstick in a salty combination of theatre and haute cuisine.
The show and workshops continue for the following two weekends: Sunday 4 October at Azur Pavilion, Marina and Sunday 11 October at the White Rock Theatre. (Workshops from 12-1pm and performance from 2-3pm.) So, if you love it, please tell your friends and family – and come back and see the performance again yourself!
For more information contact Julia Dunbar McLean on 01424 203 944 or email: info@theatrerotto.co.uk
The show is directed by Samuel Dutton and supported by the Foreshore Trust, Hastings & St Leonards Muffin Club and the Lions Club of Hastings.
Photo iDOLRiCH website
Puppetry for seniors
iDOLRiCH Theatre Rotto is also offering seniors in Hastings and St Leonards the chance to learn the art of shadow puppetry and performance to enhance creativity and wellbeing.
A workshop series in puppet making, followed by a shadow performance entitled ‘The Cloth of Dreams’, ran over the summer, led by Julia Dunbar McLean and assisted by Charlotte Hailey Watts and Julian Rumball. Residents and staff in nursing homes, day centres, sheltered accommodation and special interest groups in the town and in centres around East Sussex have enjoyed making and operating their own 2D and 3D characters and experimenting with silhouettes to bring the work to life.
The initial sessions were piloted by Hastings Borough Council and supported by the Sussex Community Foundation. Feedback has been very positive with several requests for return visits – and iDOLRiCH are hoping to attract further funding to bring the work to new centres, as well as returning to places who want to extend the activity.
at Pett Village Hall Doreen and the Puppet team
“Our residents really enjoyed your visits. You treated them not like patients but as people, allowing a real relationship to develop. You encouraged and supported them without being patronising. These people didn’t grow up with high definition TV and it reminded them of their younger days. We hope to have you again in the future.” Matron at Brunswick Ward Neville Hospital, Hove
“Cloth of Dreams’ went down a storm with those who stayed to join in, they thoroughly enjoyed it and have talked about it a lot since! We would be very keen to have them back in the future”. Reece Welch, deputy manager at Elizabeth Court Rest Home in Bexhill.
Julia Dunbar McLean, artistic leader of iDOLRiCH said: “We have been having a fantastic time engaging with so many interesting people who found working with puppets fascinating, as well as being able to communicate and to extend their mobility and co-ordination skills as a result. Puppetry is a simple but powerful tool for people to express themselves with – whatever their age or capability”.
Anyone interested in booking a performance or workshop, sponsorship, making a donation, getting involved or interested in more information, please contact Julia Dunbar McLean on 01424 203 944 or via www.idolrich.co.uk, email: info@theatrerotto.co.uk.
iDOLRiCH Theatre Rotto is a charitably registered theatre company, which tours nationally and locally with a repertoire of children’s/family and adult shows as well as workshops and training.
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