About Indigo Moon Theatre

Internationally acclaimed children’s puppet & shadow theatre company – enter the magical world of puppetry …

A shadow puppet scene from Aladdin with the grand palace in the background and two shadow puppets standing either side of the magic lamp

 

Indigo Moon Theatre was created in 1999 by founder Anna Ingleby to showcase the magical world of shadow and puppet theatre. Combining traditions, techniques and styles from around the world, today Indigo Moon Theatre works with company members and artistic collaborators to create inspiring and engaging productions for children and adults alike.

Indigo Moon Theatre productions bring to life marionettes, rod puppets, shadow theatre along with acting and live music to share stories with the audience. Our colourful and immersive productions stand alone for entertainment value and also tackle subjects such as the environment, tolerance and international understanding.

As well as creating productions, Indigo Moon Theatre offers insightful and unique workshops for both children and adults. From puppet making and shadow theatre techniques to specialist training sessions for teachers, our experienced company members help enhance curriculum targets and bring a truly unique experience into school.

We’ve taken our productions around theatres, festivals and schools around the UK and overseas and continue to do so to this day. We also love collaborating with other companies and take commissions or offer consultancy for special events, film, media & TV.

Join us and journey into a magical world of puppetry …

Our Influences

Indigo Moon Theatre’s productions and educational work are inspired by both traditional and contemporary techniques. We aspire to making shows that allow the audience to enter another world and leave this one behind for the duration of the performance. We also seek any opportunities within our shows to appeal at different levels to different ages, and to communicate as well as entertain.

The marionette Saraswati sits in front of a sitar

Traditional Puppets

Traditional puppets from around the world such as Indonesian Wayang Golek (rod puppets), Wayang Kulit (shadow puppets), translucent shadow puppets from South India and Rajasthani string puppets (kathputli) have all inspired our work and feature in our demonstration collection which we use in our workshops. The folk dance of Saraswati, our dancing marionette (pictured above), also originates from Rajasthan, whereas the marionette of Alice which features in Alice & the White Rabbit uses European techniques.

Two colourful Indonesian rod puppets looking at each other in The Lost Forest

The Worm That Squirmed and The Lost Forest (pictured above) both mainly use traditional Wayang Golek, though we stage them in a non-traditional way combined with other media including shadows and our own original music. Our shows are adapted to suit family audiences with shorter attention spans than those who are used to watching puppet shows through the night in Indonesia!

A mermaid shadow puppet swimming towards the shadow fish in Mermarella

Shadow Puppets

In the case of our four shadow theatre shows, Mermarella (pictured above), Alice & the White RabbitAladdin & Jungle Book as well as our shadow theatre techniques workshops, we have been inspired by the work of German shadow film pioneer Lotte Reiniger, Italian company Teatro Gioca Vita, American shadow artist Larry Reed and Indonesian (Balinese) director Putu Wijaya. Large scale creative techniques and the accessibility of this art form – with its ability to make spectacular effects relatively easily – make this another very satisfying medium to work with.

OUR INSPIRATIONS:


JUNGLE BOOK Jungle Book tells a surprisingly good story that harkens back to the poetry & spirit of Rudyard Kipling's original books. VIEW MERMARELLA From one of its earliest beginnings in ancient Egypt, a story best known across the globe as Cinderella shape-shifts its common threads into the world of the seas. View ALADDIN This colourful tale from the Arabian Nights is set in the Middle East VIEW THE LOST FOREST There’s magic and mayhem in the rainforest! VIEW ALICE AND THE WHITE RABBIT Join Alice on her magical adventure as she chases the White rabbit back in time on a fantastic spiralling journey into Wonderland. VIEW THE WORM THAT SQUIRMED A contemporary show for children or adults alike. VIEW SARASWATI Saraswati has delighted audiences in many places both in Britain and abroad since 1992. She dances in traditional Rajasthani folk style, as well as reacting to her audience in her own particular way. VIEW