// Sleeping Horses Lie .... is a visual action-packed delight.Told in classic story -book fashion, but with generous lashings of pantomime, clown, slapstick, character puppetry and digital animation, the performers Bryony Geeves and Kai Raisbeck, as brother and sister Wilbur and Wilma, tell this complex but rollicking tale with great vigor. Punctuated by moments of […]

// Oslo Rogers has a very fun mum called Ruthy, and lives in a very fun town called Mellingong. But now a very unfun problem (called a big approaching storm) is forcing everyone to head for The Clondike, the big town hall on the hill.And they can only take a few important things each – […]

A heartwarming tale of friendship, family and flying dogs!When a dog arrives out of nowhere on her birthday, Pip isn’t sure how to react. But the wisecracking Pooch wins her over with common sense that could only have come from stretches at the local pound. But when Snooty, leader of a girl gang, sees a […]

A unique and inspiring performance by Tasmania’s two leading arts companies that takes place simultaneously in two cities, linked by high-speed broadband. Dale, a Tasmanian Aboriginal boy, has one life, living on a hill in the bush. Pete has another, living on a hill in the city. Two boys, in two different parts of Tassie, […]

    The beautiful and awkward moment where a child crosses over and begins the journey to adulthood. For Helena Bugosi that moment happens in an instant and in this instant Helena makes a powerful choice. While this is the journey of Helena Bugosi, an eleven year old girl who possesses a magical voice, it […]

 The Australian Contemporary Puppetry Residency was established by Terrapin in 2017 to support the development of new contemporary puppetry projects in Australia. This annual residency is open to Australian individual artists and independent organisations and ensembles working in theatre, dance, live art or contemporary performance. As its central aim is art-form development, proposed projects can […]

Puppet Design and Construction Professional Development Program In 2018/2019 Terrapin welcomes three Tasmanian artists and makers to undertake a funded program of professional development in puppet design and construction. Working with experienced puppet makers, participants will develop their skills with the aim of increasing the capacity for puppet design and construction in Tasmania. Terrapin is […]

Shadow Play with Terrapin   A new creative workshop for Grades 3 and 4 Terrapin’s workshop series opens a world of storytelling potential to teachers and students through the medium of shadow puppetry, a form that can easily be explored further at home or in the classroom. Students will experience a taster of all the […]

a pre-war costume-making workshop     In preparation for King Ubu at MONA FOMA 2020, Terrapin mustered festival-goers to assist in creating preposterous armour from recycled and salvaged objects. Participants' creations featured in King Ubu, performed over three summer nights in Cataract Gorge, Launceston. PAST WORKSHOP 2020: 18 – 20 January School of Creative Arts, Launceston Created by: Bryony […]

ANTHEM ANTHEM REVOLUTION   Terrapin is inviting 10-to-12-year-olds to revolutionise the Australian national anthem. Over a week of theatre games, song writing workshops and discussion, a group of young Tasmanians will rewrite the Australian national anthem into a song which speaks of their community, their dreams and their vision of the country. This song will […]

A TERRAPIN & FIRST DOG ON THE MOON COLLABORATION   Terrapin and First Dog on the Moon collaborate on an evolving interactive installation in the window of Hobart's iconic independent bookshop, Fullers. The windows will be transformed into colourful illuminated comic strip dioramas to be displayed night and day, enlivening a winter street for audiences […]

A feisty feline fantasia

What happens when a book character won't stay in their place?   Benny, the plucky puppet protagonist in The Paper Escaper, knows they are destined for greater things than a simple pop-up book. But in a world that’s trying to squash Benny between its pages – from a monstrous chomping sketchpad to a disillusioned illustrator […]

A weekend-long masterclass with Jacob Williams Learn the core principles of how to bring the puppet to life and engage an audience. Participants will take part in a deep exploration in breath, impulse, the puppet brain, rhythm, fixed point and much more. Over two days you will learn the relationship between puppeteer, puppet and audience, devise […]

A new track for a new generation https://vimeo.com/763259200/c82ebe6943   In Anthem Anthem Revolution, participants battle a table tennis robot to hear a new national song as written by children, an anthem that reflects their hopes and dreams for the country. Inspired by rhythm games like Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero, each time a ball […]

Scribble and scrawl a section of our gigantic monster, projected high up above the crowds as it rots away before your very eyes.   Three tents. Three participants. Two minutes to draw, scribble or scrawl your contribution to an ever-changing monster projected in real time on a gigantic tower of LCD screens. In this extra-special […]

  Adventure, laughs and contemporary Tasmanian Aboriginal culture. https://vimeo.com/361955623 An epic quest of bravery and friendship. A story with a little bit of truth and a little bit of make believe, one might say A Not So Traditional Story… Once upon a time two kids, Wurangkili (who is keen on adventure) and Timita (who takes a […]

ON ZEITGEISTS A December reflection with artistic director Sam Routledge.On first walking into Terrapin’s recent celebratory exhibition at TMAG, surrounded by just some of the extraordinary puppets that have been constructed by our makers over the last 40 years, I was particularly struck by the relationship between two productions. Made over twenty years apart, The BFG […]

Monsters are coming. Cement mixers and plant machinery take on a life of their own. Terrapin worked with four Tasmanian artists to create a fleet of Monster Trucks for MONA FOMA 2022: a leering, grinning series of monsters which roamed Launceston and Hobart. Inspired by Stephen King's horror short story Trucks - a tale about […]

WE'RE OPENING UP THE ARCHIVE. Over the past 40 years, Terrapin has staged more than 140 productions in schools, theatres, festivals and public spaces: it makes for a lot of puppets. In celebration of our 40th milestone, we've delved into the Terrapin puppet archive, uncovering treasures from long ago. Marionettes, masks, and monsters have emerged […]

  An exploration of our future. Bio-concrete, salvaged timber, leather made from fruit peels: the design world is turning its eyes to sustainable and salvaged material use. In parallel, the burgeoning circular economy movement urges industry to eliminate waste, keep products and materials in use, and regenerate natural systems. Can clever, thoughtful, deliberate designing and […]

Let the cacophony commence.   A microphone is propelled by an air compressor in a violent and automated choreography. As the microphone strikes the walls and floors, it creates random patters of digital impulses which influence the environment in a rhythmic, thudding chorus.   This immersive new sound work from Dylan Sheridan will premiere at […]

The most important meal of the day.The most important meal of the day—a full cooked breakfast, including coffee—prepared entirely by a pair of metal poles poked through a wall.Terrapin Puppet Theatre and Dylan Sheridan presented All Day Breakfast, a seven-hour durational performance, at Detached as part of MONA FOMA 2022. Conceived during the early days of […]