Spare Parts Puppet Theatre and Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts Celebrate 10 Years

In celebration of a decade-long partnership, Spare Parts Puppet Theatre and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) will present the murmuration of lost birds-a visually stunning and evocative production-for a limited season of three performances at Victoria Hall, Fremantle from November 8, 2024.

This tenth collaboration marks a significant milestone, as the 3rd Year Performance Making students join forces with Spare Parts acclaimed puppetry director, Michael Barlow, for the final production of their Bachelor of Performing Arts degree.

Over the course of a five-week intensive course in puppetry, the students have been busy mastering essential skills in manipulation, character creation, and visual storytelling. The culmination of their efforts is a new and adventurous production, written by the students and directed by Barlow, blending puppetry and innovative storytelling to create a stunning work of visual theatre.

A soaring flight of the imagination, the murmuration of lost birds presents a collection of poignant and humorous stories inspired by birds on their journeys across the globe, over seas both sparkling and dark, and through skies alive with birdsong. Racing against the dying light, their cries carry the weight of untold stories, as they unerringly heed the call of home.

Associate Director of Spare Parts, Michael Barlow, said that the murmuration of lost birds is one of our most evocative tales yet, drawing from the rich symbolism of bird stories with their power to express our contradictory longings for freedom and belonging.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Sound Design - Top 3

1. Adam Fisher - The Lost Boys

36.2% of votes

2. Tony Gayle - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

10.9% of votes

3. Kai Harada - Ragtime

7.2% of votes

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