Composer: Tom Poster
Lyrics: Tobi Poster
Director: Sita Calvert-Ennals
Lighting: Mark Parry
Puppet Design: Wattle & Daub
Photographer: Barney Witts
A monstrous chamber opera for puppets based on the true story of Tarrare the Freak, an 18th century French revolutionary spy with an insatiable appetite for live cats, amputated limbs and the occasional toddler. Tarrare’s grizzly story ends on the autopsy table - a defining moment in medical history.
Featuring over twenty puppets with live music on stage the design for set and costume on this project had to be designed around the pre-existing puppet design and aesthetic of the design. Supported by the Welcom Trust, the research for the design came from period research from head pathologist Alan Bates and considering the medium from which the story is told.
This premiered at Bristol Festival of Puppetry at the Tobacco Factory in 2015 and Suspense festival at the New Diorama. The show will be developed a little more for its future run in Wilton's Music Hall, London and Tobacco Factory in 2016-17.