Stephen Mottram
THE PARACHUTE + WATCH THE BALL

Stephen Mottram’s Animata has performed in more than 40 countries. Featuring specially composed music by Sebastian Castagna, these two new pieces fuse artistry with science and demonstrate the magic of puppetry as a story-telling medium.

The Parachute is a funny and mesmerising tale about youth, love and confronting old age. With little more than an armful of white tipped wands, master-puppeteer Stephen Mottram conjures characters from nowhere. He plays with the way our brains make sense of things we see and stealthily reels us into a world of movement and illusion, populated by ephemeral, abstract figures to whom we simply cannot help but be attracted.

Watch the Ball sends us scurrying down neural pathways old and new in a short exploration of the puppeteer’s tricks – visual ideas which suspend your disbelief.

Stephen's previous shows to have been presented at the Mime Festival Include The Seed Carriers, The Seas of Organillo and In Suspension.

‘What impresses most is not Mottram's unique craftsmanship, but a vision which is at once strange and foreign, yet perfectly realised and coherent’ The Stage

‘Mottram's show demonstrates that the new puppetry is more than a match for the best live drama in its ability to tackle serious subjects with theatrical verve’ The Guardian