‘Sheep-themed silliness’ to make Edinburgh Fringe debut!

Q: What is the new show all about?

A: This show is designed to introduce very young children to the theatre through interactive story-telling and sensory learning. They can look forward to a flock of woollen puppets, original music and sheep-themed silliness all set around Bo Peep needing her audience to help her find her sheep and save them from danger in time for bed. It's the perfect theatre introduction for little ones, and one of only a few puppet theatre shows for early years at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Throughout the pandemic very young children have been deprived of the opportunity to see live theatre.  We hope we've produced a show that introduces our children to the joy and magic that is puppetry and other forms of theatre and that they will be inspired to see more and more!

Q: How has Knuckle & Joint developed since it was launched back in 2014?

 A: We first began making puppetry productions for adults with a weird and wonderful puppet cabaret full of madcap puppet murder! Since those early days, we've created giant tropical bird puppets for outdoor shows for families. We enjoyed that so much that we now make silly and nonsensical theatre for two-to-six-year-olds and their budding imaginations! 

Q: How have the individual puppets been realised – in terms of character and appearance – and what’s the thinking behind them?

A: The Bo Peep puppet is heavily influenced by the Japanese puppetry, Bunraku. She is 2ft tall and operated by two puppeteers who can make her walk, run and leap across fields as she chases after her sheep! Her costume doesn't include the traditional skirt and bonnet as it would get in the way of her adventures and a pair of muddy dungarees and wellies were far more weather appropriate! The sheep puppets are made with real wool as children are welcome to pet them and they also have different scents to create a multi sensory experience of Bo Peep in the British countryside. We have seven puppets and five shadow puppets in the show, each with their own whimsical personalities, such as our Sheepsaurus and Supersheep!

Q: How do the creators go about adapting well-known fairy tales, to give them new life and a fun, interactive dimension?

 A: We look for nursery rhyme characters with stories that audiences can go on a deeper dive into! Bo Peep may have lost her sheep and found them again but what happened in between?! One of our goals is to positively introduce young children to theatre and to springboard their imaginations so that they go on to play with nursery rhyme characters and fairy tales in their own way. 

Q: What are the benefits of a theatre experience for very young children? How does it address challenges raised by the pandemic?

A: Most young children may have experienced panto at Christmas or a show during the summer holidays but with theatres closed for two years, many children have missed out on live performance. Watching theatre inspires play, imagination and communication for young children. In Bo Peep there are messages of including mindfulness in our lives to help with emotional regulation which children will still be learning how to do when they face challenging new situations. 

Q: How do young children react – do they have favourite puppets?

A: Our audiences love the world of Bo Peep, from the grass on stage, the greenery of the set and Bo Peep's warm and welcoming nature. We have beautiful shadow puppetry which is a lovely calming moment in the show and children love petting the sheep puppets!

Q: What are the plans for the future?

A: The Adventures of Bo Peep will be on a national tour again in 2023 but before then our other show for early years, The Gingerbread Man, will be hosting it's Christmas run at Trafalgar Entertainment's Palace Theatre in Southend-on-Sea!

More information
Knuckle & Joint is run by director/producer, Rebecca O'Brien and supported by associate artist, Peter Morton. K&J has created and toured multiple visually stunning productions for early years with intricate puppets and silly characters. It adapts familiar stories to be enjoyed in new ways, creating wonderfully visceral worlds through intelligent puppet design and innovative visual theatre for young audiences to relish. The shows are ‘fun, passionate and gloriously silly’.

The company is proactive in the arts scene of South East London and Kent through leading workshops, creating performance and being a resident company at Churchill Theatre. The Adventures of Bo Peep was born out of Knuckle and Joint's and Trafalgar Theatre's Churchill Theatre's shared idea of providing a first theatre experience for young children. A theatre experience that provides young children with the freedom to wriggle in their seats, interact with the puppets and access the arts at a young age and at an affordable ticket price.

Find out more here