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Puppet Animation Scotland announce line up for
MANIPULATE Festival 2023

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MANIPULATE Festival 2023 returns to the capital with one of its most ambitious programmes to date – with shows at the Traverse Theatre, Summerhall, The Studio at Festival Theatre, Fruitmarket, online and outside across the city.

Image: Un-retained (composite image). Courtesy of Sandman.

Edinburgh’s international festival of visual theatre and animated film, MANIPULATE, is a celebration of visually stunning work, with a focus on artworks which breathe life into the inanimate or tell stories primarily through imagery. 

The 16th edition of the festival will offer audiences a rich palette of events across a range of visual artforms, including large-scale illuminated hands which will roam across the city; intricate live micro-cinema featuring over 2000 miniature animals; an aerial work inspired by lobster fishing; and theatre simultaneously performed and livestreamed between Scotland and Argentina.

There are an array of themes and ideas to uncover, with much of this year’s programme speaking to the stories that we tell ourselves, and one another, about who we are. Further themes of the programme include migration, the resilience of the human spirit, memory, celebrations of life and of death, and our relationship with a changing climate.

MANIPULATE Festival 2023 will run from Thursday 2  – Sunday 12 February, presenting a dynamic programme of live performances, installations, workshops, and film screenings – taking place in person and online, with shows at Summerhall, The Studio @ Festival Theatre, Traverse Theatre and, for the first time, Fruitmarket. The Festival will also see outdoor installations take to the streets of Edinburgh. Acclaimed international artists will share work alongside Scotland’s own leading artists, including the return of MANIPULATE favourites and brand-new companies. 

Alongside a diverse programme of brand-new work for MANIPULATE Festival 2023, some elements of the programme are finally coming to the stage after being rescheduled from 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dawn Taylor, Artistic Director and CEO of Puppet Animation Scotland, says: 

“We are thrilled that 2023 will see the return of a full MANIPULATE Festival programme for the first time in three years. By expanding across Edinburgh into new venues, the city streets and online, we can reach and connect with new audiences and spark new conversations. We are looking forward to celebrating the sheer magic that puppetry, visual theatre and animation can offer during these challenging times; a spark of hope and light that MANIPULATE has come to represent in the dark of the Scottish winter. 

With a more varied palette of artforms than ever, and featuring work which is playful, bold, interrogative and joyful from a dynamic group of visually-driven artists, 2023 promises to be one of our most ambitious programmes to date. We can’t wait to share it with you!” 

Jaine Lumsden, Creative Scotland’s Theatre Officer, says: 

“MANIPULATE is all about bringing together Scottish and international visual theatre and animation of the highest quality and artistic ambition. The Festival plays a central role in the physical performance sector and we’re so glad to be behind its return to full programming next year.” 

The 2023 Programme includes: 

MANIPULATE Festival 2023 will open with a roaming performance on the streets of Edinburgh, created by Fergus Dunnet and Ronan McMahom. The Dab Hands are large-scale illuminated puppets specially commissioned by MANIPULATE Festival to usher in the 2023 Festival and welcome all those they come to pass. Following this will be an exuberant Opening Night Party in celebration of their first full festival in three years, offering exclusive pop-up performances, music and sneak peeks into highlights across the festival, and a visit from specially commissioned giant illuminated puppets for all to enjoy. 

Raw Material & Vanishing Point present the World Premiere of Love Beyond (Act of Remembrance), by renowned theatre artist Ramesh Meyyappan. This tender and visually creative new show is a love story that follows Harry, who has dementia and uses sign language. Events from the past and present intertwine as Harry moves into a new home. Just as his nurse begins to learn his language, Harry begins to forget, leaving him in a unique world alone with only himself. 

Also exploring distorted memory are Vision Mechanics, who will present The Fantastic Life of Minnie Rubinski. Part installation and part filmed puppetry show, this intimate experience is a funny, moving and sometimes nonsensical journey through the title character’s life, synapses and fragmented memories.

Relationships and their complex dynamics are the forefront for Scottish aerial theatre company Paper Doll Militia, who return to MANIPULATE with the World Premiere of Arthropoda – gripping aerial circus theatre that unpacks the unravelling of a relationship through aerial performance. The piece is told through the visual analogy of lobster fishing, and a lobster stuck in a creel who can leave but chooses not to.

Scotland-based Shotput question Hollywood norms in Ferguson and Barton, as they awake in a filmic dream world exploring the power dynamics of their own relationship. Inspired by Hitchcock’s Vertigo, the show explores communication and miscommunication, voyeurism, gender roles, and sensuality. 

Also inspired by Hitchcock are festival returnees Agrupación Señor Serrano’s with their show Birdie. The Spanish masters of micro-cinema explore migration through multimedia performance – thousands of migrating birds draw impossible shapes in the sky in between two mirages; one with wars, droughts and deforestation, the other with safe streets, stability and renewable energies. 

Continuing the theme of refuge and migration, performance maker Tashi Gore, visual theatre expert Ross Mackay, and playwright Will Gore create a hybrid live performance and digital animation with The Yellow Canary an epic true story and leap into the imagination of a young child exploring love, loss and what it means to flee your home. 

In a further exploration of migrant identity, Katherina Radeva of award-winning, bold performance art duo, Two Destination Language, presents 40/40 – fresh from its World Premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022. Katherina is a woman, a migrant and now, a dancer. 40/40 is an unapologetic celebration of 40 years of joy and hardship. 

In an exciting development for 2023, MANIPULATE will take to the streets of Edinburgh, with the Scottish Premiere of Sandman’s Un-retained. A collaboration between choreographer Sabine Molenaar, multimedia artist Gertjan Jiasion and composer Jochem Baelus, it combines dance, audiovisual production and projection mapping to tell the timeless, weightless story of being human. Un-retained will be projected onto the architecture of Edinburgh (with an exact location to be announced at a later date) for the duration of MANIPULATE 2023. 

Free public installation work at the Festival also includes A Rock and a Hard Place, from puppetry and micro cinema theatre expert Gavin Glover. This kinetic sculpture work initially premiered as part of Restless Worlds at MANIPULATE in 2021. A collection of mini dioramas made up of the Earth, Sky, Sea and the Mind, this installation imagines a parallel world, with accompanying audio to be enjoyed by headphones. 

Into the Long Green Jaws is another World Premiere presented by Long Green Jaws – artist/musicians Sarah McWhinney and Fergus Hall. Combining experimental, ambient improvised music with installation, puppetry and performance art, Into the Long Green Jaws is a piece of visual gig-theatre which explores the intricacy and balance of coastal environments as multi-layered meso-ecosystems. A free drop-in installation will accompany the piece. 

Continuing MANIPULATE’s tradition of presenting high-quality puppetry for adults, festival favourites Ljubljana Puppet Theatre return to MANIPULATE with Moč (The Power), which uses intimate puppet-object theatre to question different motives of power and weakness, the public vs the private.

International puppetry work is also the focus of VOX Muziektheater, who present the UK Premiere of Poor Thing, a soul-stirring performance that combines opera and object theatre as three musical funeral directors try to reconstruct the forgotten life of an anonymous woman through her belongings. It is an ode to melancholy and an embracing of life. 

Scotland-based live performance artist Suzi Cunningham performs a double bill of Rules to Live By and Eidos. The first is a celebration of transformation, a requiem for one of Suzi’s teenage idols, Mark E. Smith; a rebellious aspiration to a hero’s punk anarchy. The second, Eidos, is a tribute to Suzi’s punk-in-her-own-right Grandmother. 

Pioneer of self-suspension rope performance Kasia Zawadzka explores the idea of the obsessive inner voice that keeps you from being at peace in aerial performance Ill Lit. Returning after a digital work-in-progress as part of MANIPULATE 2021, this full production using the Japanese art of Shibari explores mental health, repetition and the struggle to break out. 

Anna Nekrassova presents Before Thumbelina, an everyday fairytale for adults which beautifully unfolds into a touching story about a person’s struggles with infertility. Carried by song and rhythm as well as puppet and object theatre, the solo performance by Nekrassova focuses on the moment before H. C. Andersen’s renowned story of Thumbelina.

Clown Cabaret with Plutot La Vie invites audiences to share a drink as part of an evening of cabaret. Across an hour and a half, four clown performances will lead audiences through the weird, wild and sublime stupidity, with a drink included in your ticket. 

In animation, MANIPULATE 2023 will see the return of Animated Womxn: International Shorts, screening the work of extraordinary, award-winning female and non-binary animators from across the globe. Animated Highlights will pack in a dizzying array of animation styles and untold stories, featuring new work from established and emerging talent from around the world, in partnership with Edinburgh Short Film Festival. For the first time, these screenings will take place in-person at Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket, as well as being available digitally. 

Works in Progress will also continue with SNAPSHOTS, a first look at exciting new visual theatre workshops from six Scottish artists. Sand, from director Daniel Livingston and performer Petre Dobre – is a highly visual performance that uses movement, object manipulation and shadow puppetry to explore our dreams and face our nightmares; also supported by the Surge Bursary Programme, Noah Tomson’s Between Earth and Moon will be performed simultaneously in Argentina and Scotland, taking inspiration from Italo Calvo’s surrealist short story, Distance of the Moon.  

Workshops throughout the Festival will give an insight into creating your own work with Conceiving Visual Theatre with Al Seed; Micro Cinema Theatre with Gavin Glover; and developing your own multi-operator puppetry skill with Mervyn Millar in Working as One.

Tickets for the 2023 Festival will be on sale from 5pm, Thursday 10 November: manipulatefestival.org.

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STORM will meet Little Amal during COP26

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On Wednesday 10 November, 10 metre tall Goddess of the sea STORM will meet Little Amal – a 3.5 metre tall, 10 year-old Syrian refugee puppet 

STORM and Little Amal will be greeted by school and community groups from Govan as they share their hopes for a brighter future

Image credit: Murdo Macleod

Storm will meet Little Amal after she rises from the wild Scottish waters to walk in Glasgow during the United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP26 – on Wednesday 10 November 2021. Created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company, Vision Mechanics, Storm is a 10 metre tall goddess of the sea, who has walked on land all across Scotland, carrying a message of the oceans in crisis. 

Developed in celebration of Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 20/21, Storm’s tour throughout Scotland has received funding support from Scotland’s Events Recovery Fund, established by EventScotland in conjunction with funding from Scottish Government, as well as support from Creative Scotland’s Open Fund. The Scottish Government is supporting Storm’s appearance at COP26. 

Little Amal is a 3.5 metre tall 10 year-old Syrian refugee puppet, who has recently completed The Walk, a 4 month-long travelling festival of art and hope over 8000 kilometres from the Syrian border to Manchester created by Good Chance Theatre and Handspring Puppet Company. 

The two puppets will meet near the old Govan Graving Docks at 13:30 pm. Together they will gaze at the words NO NEW WORLDS floating on the river – an installation from Clyde Docks Preservation Initiative and artist collective, Still Moving – before embarking together on a journey of discovery, inspiration and hope. 

Storm and Little Amal will travel through Govan to the former site of ‘Moot Hill’ on Water Row, where debate, democracy and monarchs of the ancient kingdom of Strathclyde give birth to a long history of strong women and activism; where historic giants like Mary Barbour and Isabella Elder were champions of social justice. 

A community response to the two puppets, and the powerful messages they carry, has been made possible by two present day women activists and key cultural players in Govan: Helen Kyle from Stage Scotland and Liz Gardiner of Fablevision. Storm and Little Amal will meet children from local Govan primary schools, hear rhymes and music from local rap artists and witness dancers perform. 

Storm will rise in Govan at 12:30pm on Wednesday 10 November. In the hour before she meets Little Amal, she will walk Water Row; watch and listen to the Soundhouse Choir, Karine Polwart and artist-led social enterprise Oi Musica perform; witness dancers; and will be joined by the ‘Stitches for Survival’ scarf which has followed her throughout her journey across Scotland – growing longer in each destination as it was prepared for COP26. 

Symon Macintyre, Vision Mechanics Artistic Director, said: “We created Storm to walk through the towns and cities of Scotland, to remind us of our commitment to making the changes necessary to tackle the climate crisis. Her journey has been a celebration of our communities, the joy of reconnection with our friends and neighbours and the awesome impact of a 10m tall sea goddess. Meeting Little Amal is a powerful extension of that celebration. This is a project that changed our attitudes to how we will work in the future and has shown me how powerful the arts can be.”

Culture Minister Jenny Gilruth said: “Storm delivers a powerful environmental message about the sea and how we can all play a part in protecting our coastal waters. I am delighted that the Scottish Government and our public bodies have been able  to support both Storm’s creation from recyclable materials to celebrate the Year of Coasts and Waters as well as this appearance at COP26. STORM will be an impressive sight as she strides through Govan with the local community arts and music groups supporting her in this compelling interactive event.”Storm is the latest production from Edinburgh-based visual theatre makers Vision Mechanics. Previously they toured the giant puppet Big Man Walking across Scotland, transformed Drummohr House into the world of Oz, and installed Giants in the Forest across the UK. Their work invites people to celebrate and participate in creating memorable and interactive productions on huge scales. Storm is their most ambitious, challenging, and politically resonant project yet. 

To offset the carbon footprint that Storm creates through her travels, Vision Mechanics has created a STORM Grove in the rewilding of the Ancient Caledonian led by Trees for Life. These trees hold our promises to tackle climate change and re-wild Scotland. The trees in this grove will create homes for wildlife and forests for the future. Planting trees and watching them grow into a beautiful forest is a hope of a better future for our children. The grove can be added to over time, and anyone who wishes to donate further trees can do so here: https://treesforlife.org.uk/groves/357869/. 

Thanks to Storm’s Funders:

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Vision Mechanics 10 metre tall puppet STORM will walk in Glasgow for COP26, 10 November 2021

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Fresh from her tour of Scotland, STORM comes to Glasgow to share her 
message of the oceans in crisis during COP26

STORM will walk in Govan, greeted by community and arts groups
along the way who will  amplify her message

Created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, Storm will once again rise from the oceans to walk on land. Returning to Glasgow for the first time since her first steps were taken as part of Celtic Connections 2020, Storm will walk through Govan on Wednesday 10 November 2021, as COP26 – the United Nations Climate Change Conference – takes place across the city.

Developed in celebration of Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 20/21, this free, outdoor theatre spectacle has received funding support from Scotland’s Events and Recovery Fund, established by EventScotland, in conjunction with funding from Scottish Government, as well as support from Creative Scotland’s Open Fund. The Scottish Government is also supporting Storm‘s appearance at COP26 with £15,000.

Storm is a legend come to life, emerging from Scottish seas to tell us that the oceans are in crisis. She has travelled to 10 towns across Scotland since August 2021, sharing her message with  audiences along the way, and will make her final Scottish walk of 2021 in the city she first stepped foot in. Storm asks those she meets, what can be done to alter the course of the climate crisis? She has learned of COP26, and has risen once more to add her powerful voice to the many who are calling for change across Glasgow. 

She is accompanied wherever she travels by a beautiful soundscape. The Storm music score is written by composer and singer Mairi Campbell and Dave Gray. Mairi’s voice is the chorus of the waves, urging us to care for our oceans. Storm’s eyes are the colour of oyster shells, her hair thick strands of kelp, her voice the chorus of the waves. Made from entirely recycled and natural resources Storm is ten metres tall and weighs around 500 kilos.

Symon Macintyre, Vision Mechanics Artistic Director, said:“Storm is returning to Glasgow for COP26. Her message that we need to care for this amazing small blue planet is more vital than ever. In towns and cities across Scotland thousands have come to greet her,  online thousands more. Storm rises in Glasgow to ask us all to make good on our promises to take action. Storm is a warning and a clarion call to ensure the future for our children and grandchildren.”

Culture Minister Jenny Gilruth said:“Storm delivers a powerful environmental message about the sea and how we can all play a part in protecting our coastal waters. Made from recyclable materials, Storm will be an impressive sight as she strides through Govan with the local community arts and music groups supporting her in this compelling interactive event.”

As Storm walks through Glasgow, she will meet and engage with community groups and arts organisations who will share in her message, including Karine Polwart singing alongside Soundhouse Choir and artist-led social enterprise Oi Musica, who will perform their collaborative composition ‘Enough is Enough’. Storm will also witness Govan schools and community artists perform, co-ordinated by Helen Kyle from Stage Scotland. Further detail on Storm’s route, community involvement and who else she will meet on 10 November will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Laura Mackenzie-Stuart, Head of Theatre at Creative Scotland said: “We look forward to Storm’s return to Glasgow as part of COP26. Art and creativity have a key role to play in helping to address the climate emergency and contributing to a more environmentally sustainable Scotland. This important work, while inspired by the rich heritage and diverse culture of Scotland’s coasts and waters, also carries a vital message about the need to take care of our planet for future generations.”

Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events for VisitScotland, said: “We have been delighted to support Storm through Scotland’s Events Recovery Fund, established by EventScotland in conjunction with funding from the Scottish Government. This majestic goddess of the sea has inspired communities across Scotland with her message centred on the environmental impact on our oceans. Having taken her first steps alongside the River Clyde in January 2020, her return to Glasgow for an appearance at COP26 is a fitting next stop on her journey.”

Storm is the latest production from Edinburgh-based visual theatre makers Vision Mechanics. Previously they toured the giant puppet Big Man Walking across Scotland, transformed Drummohr House into the world of Oz, and installed Giants in the Forest across the UK. Their work invites people to celebrate and participate in creating memorable and interactive productions on huge scales. Storm is their most ambitious, challenging, and politically resonant project yet. 

To offset the carbon footprint that Storm creates through her travels, Vision Mechanics has created a STORM Grove in the rewilding of the Ancient Caledonian led by Trees for Life. These trees hold our promises to tackle climate change and re-wild Scotland. The trees in this grove will create homes for wildlife and forests for the future. Planting trees and watching them grow into a beautiful forest is a hope of a better future for our children. The grove can be added to over time, and anyone who wishes to donate further trees can do so here: https://treesforlife.org.uk/groves/357869/. 

Thanks to Storm’s Funders: