Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto, February 26, 2014 - A 2-act melodramatic puppet situation comedy in which a poor family thwarts corruption and greed with some trickery of their own!
Act One: The Miller – in which a Poor Miller and his family gently guides his Rich Oppressor to Self-Destruction.
Act Two: The Miller’s Wife – in which a Poor Lady foils Dastardly Regicides and gains Royal Favour for her family.
This is the show that launched Toronto's beloved brother and sister duo Ann & David Powell (aka Puppetmongers) on an international touring career nearly 4 decades ago. Adapted from 2 folktales, the Miller & his Wife tells the story of a family who undermine the neighbourhood bully and outwit a power-hungry civil servant, trading their rustic poverty for royal connections. Told in what is now Puppetmongers’ signature style of modified Bunraku puppetry, the Miller & his Wife has been awarded a Citation of Excellence from the Union International de la Marionette USA and has toured Canada, the States, Britain, Europe and Iran.
Full of humour and anachronism, devious back-stabbing and underhanded stratagems, 2 puppeteers animate and voice 19 lively characters, while simultaneously narrating and even acting as pieces of scenery. If you’ve never seen a puppet bake a cake on stage, this is the show for you.
“like eating your favourite dessert” - Edmonton Journal
"A chance to see puppetry practiced at its finest" - Winnipeg Free Press
“unilaterally irreverent and ingenious” The City, Toronto
The brother and sister team of Ann and David Powell (aka Puppetmongers) are internationally recognized as leaders and innovators in the field of puppetry. Since 1974 they have developed a dozen new plays for both young and general audiences which have earned a combined total of 11 Dora nominations. They have been short-listed twice for the Chalmers New Canadian Play for Young Audiences Award and have received 4 Citations of Excellence from the Union International de la Marionette (US). They have received the Award for Artistic Excellence from the Puppeteers of America for “contribution of a body of work to the art of puppetry” and the Puppeteers of America President’s Award, a medal which has also been awarded to Jim Henson (Muppets), Julie Taymor (Lion King), and fellow Canadian puppeteers Ronnie Burkett and Coad Canada.
Puppetmongers presents the Miller and his Wife
A puppet play for adults and children 8 and up
Created and performed by Ann Powell and David Powell
March 6 to March 15, 2014
Matinees Tuesdays to Saturday at 2 pm
Evening performances Thursday to Saturday at 7:30 pm
Theatre Passe Muraille BackSpace – 16 Ryerson Avenue
Tickets $20 www.artsboxoffice.ca 416.504.7529
2014-02-27
Toronto: Puppetmongers presents "The Miller and His Wife" March 6-15