Today we got to indulge our inner child with Leigh's wonderful handmade puppets, and great fun it was too.
Originally from Northern Ireland, Leigh did her degrees in art and embroidery in England, before ending up in Edinburgh, where she met her husband and fellow puppeteer partner Steve. They started their own business 35 years ago making their own puppets and putting on shows all over the UK, including a visit to China to perform. They have a range of shows that they perform to children's schools, nurseries and theatres on various themes according to age, and she entertained us with incidents from the shows. She had brought along Red Riding Hood and her granny, plus a rather splendid wolf. Mary Anning the Victorian palaeontologist from a show about dinosaurs. The fox and the gingerbread man. The shoe marker and the elves. Vikings! Captivating bears. A life size Una, the wife of Finn McCool. And a sinister Macbeth and Lady MacBeth made from handbags. A large glove puppet crocodile (my favourite!).
Always on the look out for unusual and interesting fabrics, many of the puppets were made from ingenious adaptations of materials and techniques. The faces are made with papier mache, with one shoemaker puppet head and feet made from shoe lasts - brilliant! Leigh took us through how they were made, with wooden rods and various attachments to move them.
It was something out of the ordinary for us, and very inspiring. The shows of her company can be found on the website www.clydebuiltpuppet.co.uk, it would make a great treat this Christmas.
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| The Lost Teddy |
McCool's wife
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| MacBeth |
Lady MacBeth
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