Which do you think is more exciting for the seven and under age demographic: being on a boat, or watching a puppet show?
"Apples and oranges", I hear you cry, but I'm not trying to confuse, merely to introduce
The Puppet Barge. If my introduction, and the name, don't make it clear enough, I'm talking about a barge that's been converted into a 55 seater floating puppet theatre.
Puppetry is at its best when experienced in an intimate setting, and the Puppet Barge, with its 'big top' style roof, certainly creates a warm and intimate space, where you can really appreciate how magical puppets can be.
The barge floats by annually, mooring up on the Thames just before the tow-path runs into the Petersham Meadows, but this year they're playing a double bill of
The Three Pigs and the Wolf and
Captain Grimey and
Brer Rabbit and The Tar Baby.
You can catch the pigs and Grimey, probably the world's dirtiest sea captain, every day until the 14th of August at 2:30, and Brer Rabbit from the 17th of August until the 5th of September. Both of these shows are recommended for threes and up.
As well as the stories that are being told, which are mesmerising in themselves, puppets have a pull of their own, and the puppet barge is wonderful at bringing them to life - they specialise in marionettes, creative machinery and wonderful lighting and voice work.
