Making a show is a deeply iterative process. In the second creative development for Feathers, a room full of people thrashed out the potential and the limitations of the puppets we’ve built, and tested them against Dan Giovannoni’s boisterous script. A list of tweaks and changes emerged, some necessary for narrative or performer comfort, some technical. And a whole new set of lessons emerged about how the characters will interact with the set.



This is a riddle for set designer Charlotte Lane to solve. She has to navigate between the puppetry and story requirements and the challenges of touring in a van and setting up twice a day, in settings where the lighting might be gymnasium flouros and a sea of children will be sitting on the floor. Then, for extra points, it needs to transition into the controlled lighting and raked seating of theatres, with a directive to minimise volume and weight to keep the carbon footprint down.


It’s never dull! This is why we love it.
Featured: Bella Young, Noah Casey. Photos Peter Matthew.