Puppeteers world’s best

An article on page 44 of the Canterbury Bankstown Torch, Wednesday September 19th 2018

Horizon Theatre Company has again been hailed on the world stage for their brilliant creative productions. The Theatre, based in Wiley Park, has returned from the Petrushka World Puppet Theatre Carnival in Yekaterinburg, Russia, with the top award for original puppet interpretation for their now famous work, ‘Imaginarium’. Horizon was chosen from 600 performances worldwide representing theatre companies from more than 30 countries. The festival is staged in a different part of the world each year.

According to Horizon’s Director, Maddy Slabacu, Russian Theatre critics and puppeteers from other European countries expressed amazement at the originality of ‘Imaginarium’. One Russian critic wrote; “We attended the fantastic ‘Imaginarium’ show. We were shocked and delighted and forced to reconsider our views about the possibilities of puppet theatre.”

Ms Slabacu said ‘Imaginarium’ uses puppetry, storytelling, physical theatre and acting to tell the story about a wicked witch taking audiences on a journey in search of their imagination, humanity and kindness. It features well-loved characters from children’s literature, including Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel and Gretel and the Three Little Pigs. As part of the city’s anniversary celebrations, Horizon had already wowed citizens of Yekaterinburg performing in bush hats with traditional dangling corks. This Aussie style street theatre performance featured koalas and blow up boxing kangaroos.

Ms Slabacu paid tribute to the local support given to Horizon Theatre: “Our team would not have got to Yekaterinburg without the support of Canterbury Bankstown and local clubs.”