Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes to Present PENNY PLAIN, 8-18 August

Marking its 25th anniversary, Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes returns to Arts Centre Melbourne from Thursday 8 - Sunday 18 August with the apocalyptic tale Penny Plain. Part-gothic thriller, part-apocalyptic drawing room comedy, puppet show Penny Plain shows the horribly funny consequences of Mother Earth reclaiming her ground.

Octogenarian Penny Plain is blind, but she hears many tales from travellers using her lodgehouse to escape the impending apocalypse outside. Alone after her guide dog companion Geoffrey leaves, Penny home becomes a halfway house for the many quirky characters seeking sanctuary, including a serial killer, a cross-dressing banker, talking dogs and a host of other mysterious strangers.

Penny Plain follows the success of Tinka's New Dress, Provenance and Billy Twinkle which delighted adult Melbourne audiences and garnered Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes a large following in Australia.

Canada's foremost artist in puppet theatre, Ronnie Burkett has been credited with creating some of the world's most elaborate and provocative puppetry. Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, formed in 1986 and has stimulated an unprecedented adult audience for puppet theatre.

A master craftsman and performing artist, Ronnie Burkett creates and oversees every ascpect of his productions. From the exquisitely hand-crafted marionettes to his extraordinary talents as an actor - he plays every character on stage - Burkett's eye for detail and performance skills have consolidated his reputation as one of the modern masters of puppetry.

Ronnie Burkett has received numerous awards as a playwright, actor and designer for his work with Theatre of Marionettes, including the 2009 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre and Village Voice OBIE Award in New York for Off-Broadway Theatre, four Citations of Excellence in the Art of Puppetry from the American Center of the Union Internationale de la Marionnette, and an Emmy in 1979 for the puppets in Cinderrabbit on PBS.