How would you describe the project you’ve been working on?
The Four Seasons: A Reimagining is like a puppet Fantasia (only more heartwarming/wrenching) set to Max Richter’s recomposition of Vivaldi.

What were your roles and responsibilities on the show?
I was the Swing Puppeteer, I learnt all five puppeteer tracks in the show, making sure that I could fill in for anyone who might’ve be sick or injured during the run of the show.

Have you worked with Gyre & Gimble before?
I did a week of puppet-making work experience with Toby Olié in my second year of university, where my love for the art form solidified into a desire for a full career. Since then I’ve done a number of jobs with Gyre & Gimble, including puppet fabrication of their animals for Running Wild and the miniature Beauty and the Beast puppets for The Grinning Man.

What training have you had, and in what skills?
I was a student in the first year of the Curious School of Puppetry in 2016, it’s an intensive ten-week training founded my Sarah Wright, and where I learnt the bulk of my puppetry performance skills. My puppet-making skills come mostly from years of watching Art Attack whilst growing up.

How did you find your way into puppetry?
By being entirely too keen and bothering people via email -as well as the generosity of the people I’ve worked with.

What previous performing experience have you had?
Lots of youth theatre and plays at University over the years -once upon a time I would have said I wanted to be a musical theatre actor (Acting! With my face?! Can you imagine?). Since then it’s been entirely puppet-focused in theatre, TV & film.

What do you think makes puppetry such a unique performance discipline?
The combination of fine art, engineering and physical performance is incredibly satisfying, not to mention the enormous amount of cultural history that puppetry has supporting it.

What are the joys and challenges of bringing a puppet to life?
The challenges ARE the joys! Finding the right movements and rhythms to tell a truthful story to which people can connect is both an arduous and enormously pleasing job.

What career ambitions do you have for the future?
To be able to make meaningful work that people enjoy watching.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Buzz Lightyear.

Which five people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party?
To keep it puppet-related, I’ve always been interested in the ancient roots of the art form so I’d invite some people of ancient cultures: Greece, China, India, a Mesopotamian and a Native American perhaps, and get them just to chat about folk stories and how they tell them. Failing that Steve Irwin, he was a cool guy.

What makes a great piece of theatre?
One that has a strong reason to be performed (that is, relevant NOW) and that’s not afraid to challenge and explore both new and commonly held beliefs and ideas.

Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons: A Reimagining has now finished its run in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare’s Globe, but we are working towards a continued life for the show in the near future. In the meantime, more information about the show -including photos, videos and reviews- can be found HERE