Royal Horse Play

Scarborough-based Animated Objects describes itself as “a small company that delivers really big ideas”. Those ideas have included Orpheus the Mariner, a two-day event in the seaside town involving a cast of 1,200 people and a puppet 27 metres in height.

The company’s contribution to York Theatre Royal’s community production Sovereign is smaller in scale but could prove a real scene-stealer in the Tudor-set play adapted from C.J. Sansom’s bestselling novel.

When the word puppet is used you, like me, may think of Sooty and his hand-held ilk. The animal puppets in Sovereign are more War Horse than Basil Brush.

Animated Objects is making two king’s horses, a Shire horse, and a bear for the Sovereign community production. Working in and with the community is a big part of Animated Objects work.

The four animals all have different characteristics – the king’s horses are more ordinary looking than the muscular Shire horse and the bear looks the worse for wear after bear-baiting confrontations.

The puppets, which are ‘handled’ and brought to life by members of the cast, need to be lightweight so are made of willow covered with a light mesh. There are moving parts operated by the handlers and, as Sovereign is an outdoors production, need to be waterproof.

Artistic director Lee Threadgold runs Animated Objects with wife, Dawn. He trained as a dancer but injury led to retraining in theatre directing. Training involved going to drama school in Holland where he had the opportunity to work on gigantic open air shows. Puppetry and manipulation became a way of life and he set up Animated Objects 20 years ago.

He met Dawn while working at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, the town where Animated Objects is now based. She joined the company ten years ago.

Lee has yet to come across a puppet challenge he can’t achieve. He has made puppets that can be operated on land, sea and air. Animatronics have made even more things possible, including radio-controlled flying puppets. He’s even made puppets that can swim in the North Sea.

Puppets have become much more accepted as ‘cast members’ over the past 20 years since the theatre version of the animated hit The Lion King used a menagerie of animal puppets to eye-boggling success on stage and in the auditorium.

Puppets are no longer just for children. They can do almost everything a flesh and blood actor can – and sometimes more. Just consider the equine puppet stars of War Horse or the tiger in the stage adaptation of Life of Pi.

Sovereign is staged outdoors at King’s Manor in York from 15-30 July.