The International Puppet Festival is delighted to celebrate its 20th anniversary this year with a wide and exciting range of performances from across the world, joined by some of the best Irish puppeteers to provide some evocative and memorable entertainment for Irish audiences.
It is also exciting for other reasons. We have a new Festival Director in Polly O’Loughlin, who was previously the Artistic Director of Pavilion Theatre. Polly comes to us with experience of the fields of physical theatre, mask theatre, puppetry and dance – as well as a great deal of energy and enthusiasm for building the International Puppet Festival into something really special.
2011 also sees us extend the International Puppet Festival to Bray for the first time, with performances in the Mermaid Arts Centre. We look forward to building on this new partnership as well as maintaining our city centre presence and our original home in Monkstown / Dun Laoghaire. All three venues will feature some fabulous open air performances on Sunday, 23rd October. Future plans feature the extension of the festival to other parts of Ireland – watch this space!
In line with our remit to encourage the practice of puppetry in Ireland, the festival will provide a forum to develop a dynamic peer group for Irish puppeteers in the coming years.
2012 sees the 21st anniversary of International Puppet Festival Ireland, for which we have some exciting plans. The festival will stage an exhibition on puppetry at the RDS in March 2012, to be held in memory of the late great Eugene Lambert, who inspired so many of those working in puppetry in Ireland and internationally.
In the meantime, enjoy the 2011 festival and, remember, we need your support, encouragement and enthusiasm! Do get to as many of the performances as you can – and stay in touch, via our web site, www.puppetfest.ie.
Martin G Molony
Chairman
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