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History |
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Terrapin Puppet Theatre was founded on 22 April 1981 by the late Jennifer Davidson, one of the designers of the defunct Tasmanian Puppet Theatre. Jennifer began with a concerted campaign to establish a Tasmanian schools touring circuit. Terrapin was very successful with this and during Jennifer’s time with the company many resources were built up and the company had a particularly strong design reputation. The company had a large full time staff including puppeteers. Some of the artists involved with the company during this time were Sandy McCutcheon, Tom Samek, Jindra Rosendorf and Noriko Nishimoto. Greg Methé, who is still working with the company today, designed his first show for Terrapin 1985. Heartburn Hotel, which was to be revived nearly 20 years later, was also created during this period. Jennifer retired in 1992 and Annette Downs was appointed Artistic Director. Annette continued Terrapin’s tradition of playing for young audiences, but with a stronger emphasis on theatre presentations with higher production values; a position that resulted in Terrapin presenting a production in Hobart’s historic Theatre Royal for the first time. Terrapin also toured internationally for the first time, staging Desires in Budapest, and Little Red in Korea and Taiwan. Annette mentored Philip Mitchell during the 1990s which subsequently led to Philip being appointed as the Artistic Director of Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. Other artists involved with the company during this time included Lian Tanner, Kirsty Grierson, Don Hopkins and Sue Giles (now Artistic Director of Polyglot Puppet Theatre). One of the most successful productions created during this period was The BFG: Big Friendly Giant, which enjoyed success in Hobart then toured Australia over the subsequent three years. In 1999, Jessica Wilson took over as Artistic Director. While still creating work for schools, Jessica explored productions for adult audiences, resulting in Frankenstein and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, both of which attracted interest from interstate and overseas. Working with Jessica during this period were artists such as Melinda Mills, Phil Lethlean and Colin Sneesby. In 2004, Annie Forbes was appointed Artistic Director. Annie was responsible for Terrapin hosting the 2nd National Puppetry Summit in 2006, and created The Storyteller’s Shadow: A Celebration of Hans Christian Andersen, which toured Tasmanian schools then went on to be presented in Denmark, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Annie’s production of The Legend of Ned Kelly featured design by co-devisor Richard Jeziorny and video imagery Cazerine Barry, utilising the pristine scans of Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly series, generously provided by the National Galley of Australia and the Nolan Estate. Other artists involved with the company during this time included Sam Routledge, Tim Denton and Laura Purcell. Terrapin’s current Artistic Director, Frank Newman, commenced in 2007. His first production for the company was Explosion Therapy. Terrapin acknowledges the publication The Space Between – The Art of Puppetry and Visual Theatre in Australia by Peter J Wilson and Geoffrey Milne (Currency Press), from which some of the information in this history is sourced.
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PAST SHOWS 2011 (30th Anniversary) 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
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77 Salamanca Place Hobart, Tasmania 7004 Australia |
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Ph: +61 (3) 6223 6834 Fax: +61 (3) 6223 6399 info@terrapin.org.au |
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site by FUTAGO |
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