Adopt a puppet and help theatre

KIM BRISCOE
07 August 2009 14:17

Abandoned in the forest by their poor parents, Hansel and Gretel are searching for somebody to adopt them.

The pair of puppets can now be sponsored, along with 11 others, under a new Adopt-a-Puppet scheme launched by Norwich Puppet Theatre.

The Whitefriars-based theatre hopes that families and friends will sign up to the scheme and boost its fundraising coffers.

Ian Woods, manager of the puppet theatre, said: “Many people have said that they value the theatre but don't know how to add their support. Adopt-a-Puppet is a fun way to help look after the large family of puppets and their home.”

The Adopt-a-Puppet scheme is one of several initiatives to raise funds and the profile of the theatre, which was left in crisis after it had its Arts Council funding cut in 2008.

The Evening News launched a Save Our Puppet Theatre campaign to gather support and ensure it did not shut.

The idea came about when board members and staff were thinking of ways of harnessing the goodwill of existing supporters and involving the wider public in the development of the theatre.

For £26 a year adopters will receive a 'puppet passport' which includes details of their puppet and which can be stamped every time the adopters visit the puppet.

When 10 stamps are collected, they will then be entitled to a free ticket to a puppet show of their choice.

They will also receive two free tickets to shows to use any time throughout the year and access to the online Adopt-a-Puppet club, which is a kind of puppet social networking site.

Jodie Wick, one of the theatre's trustees, said: “We hope that people in Norwich and across the country will see this as an opportunity to help support the theatre but also get something in return.

“We have got lots of ideas on how we want to develop the theatre for the future, but in order to do this we need to do some fundraising.”

Plans for the future include renovating the back stage area, putting on the theatre's own new productions once again, becoming more accessible to new audiences and even combining puppetry with animation.

For more details about the scheme see www.puppettheatre.co.uk or call 01603 615564.

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