Puppet Adaptation of MADAME BUTTERFLY Set for 2016 Brits Off Broadway

59E59 Theaters will host BUTTERFLY, Ramesh Meyyappan's striking adaptation of Madame Butterfly, at Brits Off Broadway. Written and directed by Mr. Meyyappan, with puppets by Gavin Glover, BUTTERFLY begins performances on Saturday, April 23 for a limited engagement through Saturday, May 14. Press opening is Friday, April 29 at 8:30 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday at 8:30 PM; Saturday at 2:30 PM & 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or visit www.59e59.org.

Beautiful, handcrafted puppets mix with poetic movement to tell the tale of Butterfly, a female kite maker, whose life has been shattered following the departure of her lover. So grief-stricken, she conjures a whole new life - happier and close to perfect - in her head. But as she slips deeper into her imaginary world, her tale takes another tragic turn.

Ramesh Meyyappan's adaptation draws on the classic themes of love, loss and despair from Madame Butterfly. Mixed with Gavin Glover's (The Tin Forest / A Christmas Carol - National Theatre of Scotland) stunning puppetry and music by David Paul Jones, BUTTERFLY is an "exquisite 60-minute piece of wordless theater" (The Scotsman).

BUTTERFLY features Chris Alexander ("Taggart" with Blythe Duff on ITV), Nicola Daley (Hedda Gabler at the Royal Lyceum Theatre), and Ramesh Meyyappan.

The design team includes Neil Warmington (set and costume design) and Kate Bonney (lighting design). The choreographer is Darren Brownlie. The production stage manager is Cressa Amundsen.

Ramesh Meyyappan (writer/director/performer) is a Scotland-based theater creator who uses a mix of visual and physical theater styles to continually develop and extend his theatrical visual vocabulary. His solo performances and collaborations have toured nationally and internationally to much critical acclaim. Twice winner - Best Actor Life! Theatre Awards (Singapore). Snails and Ketchup (2012 Cultural Olympiad - Unlimited) was nominated for a Total Theatre Award UK. He was part of the Program Design Team for BA Degree for Deaf Theatre at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and is coordinating the Visual Theatre module within the degree program.

Gavin Glover (puppet design) is well known as the founder member of FaultyOptic Theatre of Animation who toured their surreal and unique adult puppet shows around the world from 1988. In 2011, Gavin became a freelance Theater Director, Designer and Maker specializing in puppetry and visual theater for an adult audience. He creates challenging performance works which explore the mixture of puppets, acting, clowning, video, movement and dance -whatever is necessary to create a highly intricate and intriguing theater.

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