Spare Parts Puppet Theatre Returns To The Stage With Premiere Of Celebratory SHOW DAY

Spare Parts Puppet Theatre has announced the Perth premiere of its latest production Show Day at the Ellie Eaton Theatre at the Claremont Showground for the April school holidays from April 8 to 22, 2023.

Supported by the Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia, the new production is an exuberant celebration of all the excitement, triumphs and unexpected catastrophes an energetic community faces as it prepares for the most anticipated event of the year-the annual agricultural show.

Based on the stories of real people, Show Day is a fun-filled puppet-caper of 'ag-show' antics with a rollercoaster-carnival of puppets from dizzy sheep and wily sheep dogs to rowdy, fed-up hens. The show was developed over two years in partnership with the Albany community and artists from WA's Great Southern region.

The director of Show Day, Michael Barlow (Carnival of the Animals, The Little Prince) said that the show was a celebration of the joy of sharing the things we love with our community, as people from all walks of life come together to compete in the things they love to do, from woodchopping to show jumping to winning the prized bake-off crown!

"We are thrilled to share this wonderful collection of madcap characters with their hilarious and heartfelt stories with audiences at the iconic location of the Claremont Showground," he said. "We know that families will love spending a day at the ag show with us - and every day at the show must finish with fireworks!"

The production also sees Michael Barlow return to the stage as a performer, along with highly experienced Spare Parts performers Ellis Pearson (The Arrival) and Bec Bradley (The One Who Planted Trees, The Velveteen Rabbit), with Nadia Martich, recently seen in Yirra Yaakin's Perth Festival hit Panawathi Girl, making her company debut.

The Show Day creative team includes acclaimed Albany artists David Rastrick, Composer, and Erik Loew, Lighting Designer, as well as renowned Spare Parts' artists, many of whom have made the Great Southern their home, including Cecile Williams, Co-Creator/Designer/Puppet Maker (Denmark), Ellis Pearson, Co-Creator/Performer (Denmark), Jane Davies(Albany), and Umberto Margio (Torbay), Sanjiva Margio and Jackson Harrison (Perth) form the outstanding Puppet Making team.

Show Day is a rip roaring 50 minutes and is perfect for age five and above and for everyone in the family. For further information and bookings, please visit www.sppt.com.au or call 9335 5044.

The April school holidays presentation of Show Day is the first of two seasons to be presented at the Ellie Eaton Theatre at Gate 1 in the Claremont Showground. For the Winter school holidays from July 2, the company will present Blueback directed by Philip Mitchell (The One Who Planted Trees, Beanstalk) based on Tim Winton's much-loved book, and now a major motion picture starring Eric Bana.

CEO of the Royal Agricultural Society, Robyn Sermon said it was a great pleasure to welcome Spare Parts Puppet Theatre to the Claremont Showground for the forthcoming seasons, as partners in the presentation.

"As the home of the Perth Royal Show, RASWA welcomes all creatures great and small - and soon, that will include animal puppets as part of Spare Parts' new "ag show" production Show Day," she said. "We are thrilled to have this leading Western Australian theatre company here at the Showground. Capturing the essence of ag shows through puppetry will add to magical memories for many Western Australians of their childhood ag show experiences.

"We applaud Spare Parts' long track record of touring and entertaining families and we are thrilled that audiences are going to discover new ways to enjoy the unique spaces of the Showground."

Show Day was co-commissioned by the Albany Entertainment Centre and is supported by the State Government of Western Australia through its Made in WA initiative.

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