Islington News: Little Angel Theatre | Dagmar Passage | Hooray for Hollywood | Puppet

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

Islington Tribune - by SIMON WROE
Published: 20 February 2009

A scene from the puppetry performance set for The Little Angel Theatre

For adults only: Puppet theatre stages child porn exposé and drama about fascism

PUPPETRY – considered nothing more than kids’ entertainment by some – will come of age this weekend when an Islington theatre stages a true-life exposé of the child pornography industry.
England’s foremost marionette venue, The Little Angel Theatre in Dagmar Passage, is seeking to debunk puppetry’s playschool image with a first season of adults-only shows.
Hooray for Hollywood, a child’s view of the under-age sex business, created by a survivor of abuse, will open the revolutionary programme.
Peter Granville, the theatre’s artistic director, insists there is no need for explicit scenes to make the point.
“It’s done through metaphor and poetry rather than through graphic illustration. [As a society] we are very fearful of talking about the fact that a child pornography industry exists and how horrific it is,” he said.
“It’s a sign of a healthy society when we admit there are less palatable things happening. How can you stop or change such things if you don’t have a space to be able to examine them?”
By day, the theatre will continue to attract youngsters and families for shows such as the current Little Hippo and the Magic Pen; by night, more mature subjects such as the rise of fascism will take top billing.
Mr Granville said demand for grown-up puppetry reflected growing recognition of the medium’s potential.
“It’s not such a strange idea to people now that puppetry is an art form that can be used for any age,” he added. “We are certainly not programming a whole season of puppet sex shows.
“The work that we create for family and children will always be there from January to December.”
Hooray for Hollywood, followed by a question-and-answer session with the play’s creator, is at The Little Angel Theatre tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday at 8pm.
Children’s welfare charity NSPCC will receive £2 from every ticket.

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment: