pup barge

All Aboard!!

I make my way up the busy London street and turn right just as the instructions said, across the road and down the steps. There along the way a little is the puppet
theatre. Tucked away in a quiet corner of this bustling city is one of England's more unusual puppet theatres, Movingstage. A very apt name because this theatre is
unique, built into a pre-thirties Thames Barge, just seventy five feet long and fourteen feet wide called the MayBrent, moored at Little Venice, Paddington, London.

The Puppet Barge as it is known spends its winters here putting on regular performances but in the summer the theatre is folded down into the hull of the barge, the
tarpaulin covers go on, the mooring ropes come off, the motor is started and its away.

It is the first of July 2003 and I have been offered the opportunity to join the Puppet Barge on its annual migration right through the centre of London and beyond up the
River Thames.

The trip will take five days from Little Venice, on the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union canal, across London to Limehouse Docks and up the River to Henley-on-
Thames where the summer season starts just after the famous regatta. In fact my last day on the barge was spent with the multitudes of watercraft which spend the
last day of the regatta floating up and down the course watching the rowing and the antics of the people who attend the spectacle. The Puppet Barge then makes its
way back to Little Venice spending time at various points along the way putting on regular performances to packed houses (or is that Barges?) Every year Juliet and
Gren Middleton, owners of the Puppet Barge work miracles in the 50 -60 seat marionette theatre and produce a matinee marionette show for children and a Saturday
evening adult performance. Many classic tales such as The Three Little Pigs, The Tempest, and specially commissioned pieces make up the repertoire ably
manipulated by Juliet, Gren two other professional puppeteers hired for the season and two trainees. Gren's background is in television, specialising in lighting and
Juliet spent along time with the Little Angel Marionette Theatre.

Movingstage started in 1978 as a touring puppet theatre. Gren and Juliet toured for four years through England, Europe and India. The problems of road touring a full
marionette stage complete with bridge, came to the fore, so they started thinking of other ways that they could take their shows around the country. The answer came
to them in the form of water transport. The Maybrent was a hulk laying in the river at the entrance to a boatyard. After much hard work it was transformed into the
Puppet Barge which opened on 27th January 1982. and was formally opened in February 1982

The Puppet Barge is now actually two barges, the Maybrent which houses the theatre and Eroda, a slightly smaller river barge which is the accommodation for Gren
and Juliet. The staffing of the theatre during the summer consists of Gren and Juliet, a part time administration and press officer who works out of the office, two
professional puppeteers and two trainees who live aboard. There is a very communal feeling on the barge with all the meals being prepared and all the domestic
chores being done by everybody. This extends to when the barges are on the move as well with everybody helping with mooring, swabbing decks and helping getting
through the locks.

Every year Gren and Juliet take on one or two trainees for the summer season. This gives people with an avid interest in puppetry a chance to learn about all the
aspects of a puppet theatre especially marionettes and to decide whether the profession is for them.

Richard has been interested in puppetry from the age of five. At fourteen he, along with friends, built a puppet theatre and shows and toured them around schools. After
doing model making and design at college he read about the Puppet Barge in Animations and rang up to ask whether he could do a weeks work experience last year.
This led to being offered a traineeship this year. The experience so far has shown him a totally different kind of lifestyle, an immersion into puppetry, meeting many
different people in the puppetry world and has offered Richard an insight into how to make a living out of puppetry. He eventually would like to write and direct a
television puppet series.

Amy took a slightly different route. Like Richard she has been interested in puppets from childhood but took a degree in puppetry at The London School of Speech
and Drama. She has been involved with puppetry for about five years in total. The traineeship was heard about through word of mouth and because Amy also has a
love of boating and the water she felt that this was a brilliant combination. The traineeship has given Amy a very laid back lifestyle, strong sense of community, great
role models and a chance to see how a puppet theatre works. She would like to have her own touring puppet company eventually but feels that training and learning
many of the different skills needed in puppetry is necessary first.

The five days gave me an great insight into the workings of this very different puppet theatre and a fantastic trip on the River Thames. Many thanks to Gren, Juliet and
the whole crew of the Puppet Barge for giving me the chance to participate. For more information try the Puppet Barge website.