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Cotton Grass Theatre
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Autumn 2011:  STREET  CHILD by Berlie Doherty

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Cotton Grass Theatre and Damselfly Arts present the gripping and exciting story of an orphan, surviving the dangerous and lonely streets of Victorian London.  The story is brought to life in a visual feast of puppetry, projection and live action.

Based on Berlie Doherty’s novel of the same name, this engaging and heart-breaking family show dramatises the stories and adventures of Jim Jarvis and his meeting with Dr Barnardo, who was inspired to set up his famous children's homes.

Berlie Doherty is an award winning children’s writer and novelist and twice winner of the Carnegie Medal for literature with Granny was a Buffer Girl and Dear Nobody, both of which have been adapted and produced for stage, TV and radio. Her books are much loved in schools and Street Child is enjoyed as a standard text in primary schools across the country, where it supports the Key Stage 2 curriculum.  

Street Child at the Barnstaple Festival

This innovative play is quite literally spellbinding. With the use of a few simple props and some very believable puppetry, the cast of three transports us back to the horrors faced by young boys in Victorian England. Jim is faced with life in the workhouse after his mother dies and we are witness to the vicious mistreatment he suffers within - and all in the name of ‘God’.  Jim escapes but goes from one bad situation to another. The grim reality is that boys suffered terrible cruelty and ‘Naught gets much better until you’re dead’. A flawless performance from Cotton Grass Theatre and a definite must see!  (Fringe Secrets)

Cast:  Anni Tosh, Susan Daniel, Lewis Marsh, Stuart Rooker
Directors: Sarah Bradnock and Phil Coggins
Lighting and Sound: Garry Preece
Design: Daisy Frossard

Autumn 2011
Sept 11                 Museum of London                                                     
Sept 22                Wirksworth Festival                                                   
Sept 25                Square Chapel Arts Centre, Halifax                     
Sept 28                Palace Theatre, Newark                                          
Oct 1                     Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham                      
Oct 4-5                HMS Warrior, Portsmouth                                      
Oct 6-7                Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford                    
Oct 12                  The Met Arts Centre, Bury                                      
Oct 18                  Seven Stories, Newcastle-upon-Tyne              
Oct 21                  Josepth Whitworth Centre, Darley Dale            
Oct 22                  Edale Village Hall                                                         
Oct 26                  Woollaton Hall, Nottingham                                  
Oct 28                  Off The Shelf Festival, Sheffield                           
Oct 29-30           Cromford Mill                                                               
Nov 9                   Thornbridge Hall, Ashford-in-the-Water     

Links
www.berliedoherty.com
www.daisyfrossard.com



Spring 2006:  Corvus Corax - The Crow in the Know
by Susan Daniel

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True happiness comes through wisdom not possessions.

Corvus Corax, our wayward crow, is expelled from the Kingdom of the Birds and sets out to gather many glittering things to appease his king. But, as his journey progresses, he discovers his true history, his place in the world and what is really important in life.

The play is inspired by creation myths from around the world - from Aesop's fables to Inuit mythology.  Crow In The Know will transport you with a cornucopia of stories, music and visual delights.  Fly with our trickster hero on his magical quest to gather a wingful of stories, whispers and dastardly dares.

The show was created for families and schools (KS1 and 2)

Cast: Helena Coates, Susan Daniel, Bethany Downes, Sarah Hepworth, David Frederickson
Director: Sarah Bradnock
Design and Illustrations: Julian Drake

Tour Schedule
Youlgrave Village Hall
Great Hucklow Primary School
Bradwell Primary School
Bamford  Village Hall
Bakewell Medway Centre
Darley Dale Primary School
Ashbrook Primary School
Ashorne Village Hall

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Helena Coates as Corvus the Crow
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Crow in the Know rap: Bethany Downes, Susan Daniel and David Frederickson - oh yes, and Sedna the Sea Goddess, whose voice bore a striking resemblance to a certain woman Prime Minister
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Sarah Hepworth as Narrator


Winter 2000:  BLACK BREAD AND TIRED FEET
by Caroline Small

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'Every day she cleans and polishes - dusts and sweeps and scrubs and washes - the floor which gleams and sparkles and shines in the best-kept cottage in Russia.

She's got the soupiest soup and the tastiest bread and the tidiest house and the warmest beds - and the roastiest, toastiest, cosiest, coaliest, brightiest, lightiest, warm-up-your-toes-iest, firiest fire in the best-kept cottage in Russia.'

A star-burst of story-telling for the whole family inspired by three Russian folk tales - Baboushka, The Little Snow Girl and Ivan Gets it Wrong.  A young traveller meets old Baboushka on her everlasting journey in search of the baby king.  She tells him magical stories of those whose wishes she has made come true.  The stories are dramatised with original music and lively comedy.

Director: Sarah Bradnock
Music: Ben Daglish
Lighting: Garry Preece
Graphics and Photography: Stephen Hepworth
Costumes: Penny Edwards

Cast: Susan Daniel, Caroline Small, Ben Daglish and David Frederickson
Children: Eleanor and Sarah Hepworth, Jake Daglish, Neirin and Lewys Wheeler

Reviews:
The company renowned for pushing back the boundaries has delivered the goods. (Derbyshire Times)
Thank you for putting on the best show I have ever seen.  (Sam Brown, Bradwell Junior School)
Gentle and enchanting - what theatrical story-telling is all about. (Berlie Doherty, children's writer)

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Sarah Hepworth as the Snow Girl
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Pavel the peasant in bed wirth his wife
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The Wise Men arrive at Baboushka's house
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Collage of images from the play


Summer 1999:  The Glorious Tale of the Golden Whale
by Caroline Small

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I have talked with whales along the way,
But the other whales are black and grey.
They shake their heads, they turn their backs.
"Who painted you gold?
You should be black".

What a tale, what a tale,
From the bottom of the deep blue sea
Of a whale, of a whale,
Of a golden whale and his search for a family.

A beautiful, lonely golden whale is befriended by the princess of the oceans and is rescued by his fellow sea creatures when he falls into the hands of men.


Thirty young people aged six to fifteen took part in a six-week programme of workshops in music, acting, lighting and set design and then performed in a magical family show.

Cast:  Anna and Alex Bone, Jo Brown, Jessica Chapman, Ellie Cornford, Sophie Edwards, Mandy Foster, Kerrie Griffiths, Sarah and Eleanor Hepworth, Alex Kinnear, Natalie, Stephen and Emily Mitchell, AmyMount, Catherine Mullan, Eleanor Nash, Emily and Alice Nunn, Anna Rheingans, Collette and Nicole Robinson, Kelly Tricklebank, Louise Wager, David Warren, Lewys Wheeler, Tamsin Wright. 

Directors: Susan Daniel and Caroline Small
Original Music: Paul Barker
Lighting Design: Garry Preece
Set Design: Jane Edwards
Costume Design: Penny Edwards
Graphics and Photography: Stephen Hepworth


Links
www.stephenhepworth.com

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The Mermaid
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The Dolphin
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