GLOVE/HAND/ROD PLAYS Goldflower and the Bear - An exciting Chinese folk tale. Ages 3-8; 40 minutes. Red Riding Hood - A traditional story, funny and dramatic. Ages 3-8; 25 minutes. The Three Pigs - The traditional tale - a marvellous melodrama. Ages 3-8; 50 minutes. Molly Whuppie - A wonderful Scottish folk tale. Ages 4-10; 55 minutes. Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf - Adapted from Catherine Storr's delightful and ever-popular stories. Ages 4-9; 55 minutes. Young Finn MacCool and The Myth and Magic of Finn MacCool - Two plays about Ireland's legendary hero. Ages 5-11; 50 minutes. Down with Dracula - Two children on holiday in Transylvania meet Dracula and his crew. Ages 6-11; 55 minutes. Julius Caesar - A "reduced Shakespeare" version, performed with glove puppets in a comical and vigorous style. Ages 6-11; 55 minutes. ACTOR/PUPPET PLAYS The Man Who Lost His Nose - A funny, surprising and mysterious play adapted from a short story by Russian author, Gogol. Ages 4-10; 50 minutes. The Ugly Ducking's New Clothes - Hans Christian Andersen tells us his extraordinary life story and performs three of his tales using a mixture of table-top and shadow puppetry and storytelling. Ages 6-11; 55 minutes. There are now two versions - the newer one (devised for the Andersen Bicentenary) is for younger children ( ages 4-8) , can be performed in smaller spaces eg libraries and is less formal than the other, more theatrical, performance. Anansi Tales, Tiger Tales - A brand new 2008 production for ages 3 to - 8 - beautiful to look at, full of surprises and fun. Two of the wonderful Caribbean folktales about Anansi Spider, the mischievous trickster - 'Anansi's Second Bite' and 'Tiger's Pumpkins'. To see more details about this play, please visit www.pekkospuppets.co.uk/anansi STORYTELLING WITH PUPPETS Sleeping Beauty - The traditional story with beautiful and striking puppets. Ages 4-8; 40 minutes. Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp - A very colourful version of this ancient tale from the Arabian Nights. Ages 3-7; 45 minutes. Puss-in-Boots - Perrault's original story from the 17th Century told as if by Perrault himself. Ages 4-8; 20 minutes. The Princess and the Pea - Andersen's story with all its absurdities in full view. Ages 3-7; 15 minutes. The Frog Prince - The traditional story with a different ending. Ages 3-7; 15 minutes. Pirate Pete and Captain Eyewash - Pete and Eyewash are a hopeless pair of pirates. Ages 3-6; 20 minutes. Shows in French - The following stories are also performed in French: 'Le Petit Chaperon Rouge'; 'Les Trois Petits Cochons'; 'La Belle au Bois Dormant'; 'Le Chat Botté'. The difficulty of language used varies with the level of French attained by the audience - from Primary school levels up to those for whom French is their first language. STORYTELLING Tales from all over the world: Caribbean, Punjabi, Irish, Russian, French and Jewish folk tales. The Adventures of Hamza - This is a fascinating and beautiful combination of history, myth and fun which brings together three great cultures: Arabian and Persian stories and Moghul paintings. Full information can be found at www.hamza-novy.co.uk Plus Grandma - a larger-than-life lady who had her very own BBC TV series, "Tea with Grandma"; Henry King - Hilaire Belloc's cautionary tale; The Pobble who has no Toes - Edward Lear's verse story and The Grand Old Duke of York - who marches up and down in a very military manner. PUPPETRY WORKSHOPS ...explore the creative and dramatic possibilities of puppetry and people, from seven year olds through to adults, including those with disabilities or special needs. Workshops can last for a half-day (making and using), a whole day (ending with a short performance) or extend to a "play-in-a-week" (designing; writing; making puppets, props and scenery; rehearsal and performance). PUPPETRY IN SCHOOLS A good puppet show is true theatre - dramatic, tragic and comic. It has particularly immediate impact, special to puppetry but with all the educational potential inherent in good theatre: telling a story, raising questions and involving the audience in the events, ideas and feelings expressed. Stephen Novy taught in primary and secondary schools for eleven years, using puppetry at all levels in craft, drama and French. He has considerable experience of working in special schools both as a teacher and puppeteer.