May 3 – 5, 2013
Studio One, Riffe Center
Terrapin Puppet Theatre
Written by Finegan Kruckemeyer
Directed by Frank Newman
Winner of the 2012 Helpmann Award for the Best Presentation for Children for Boats. This is the highest honor that a theatre company for young people can gain in Australia.
How wide is the ocean? How deep is the sea?
Boats is an astonishing maritime tale from Australia’s Terrapin Puppet Theatre, which has entertained kids’ audiences for 30 years and has toured internationally for more than 20. Often incorporating surprising techniques, Boats tells of the watery adventures of Nic and Jof, sailors who share a love of the ocean and seafaring. The story unfolds using actors, props, puppets, acrobatics, and sound effects created on stage, including some from an underwater microphone. Those who glimpsed playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer’s playful, poignant style in The Tragical Story of Cheeseboy, performed here in 2012, can look forward to another insightful and adventurous script in Boats.
Based in Tasmania and originally founded with the intent to serve Tasmanian schools, Terrapin Puppet Theatre employs a unique critical review process in which an audience made up of children and industry professionals preview and critique works before shows are finalized. Before reaching this stage—in fact, before the script was written—Boats was creatively developed in collaboration by the Artistic Director, performers, writer, composer and costume designer. Quinn Griggs, who created the part of Jof said that “things happen when we get together like this that none of us could have predicted. These interactions then help to shape the story, the music and the set so it becomes a very dynamic and exciting process.”
