Katy's Blog: Life on the Road

The touring life of an actor can be many things; fun, rewarding, challenging, stressful, tiring and full of surprises! We have been on the road with Backhand’s two successful children’s shows, ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ and ‘Greek Myths for Kids’, since December last year, and as much as I love my job and am grateful to be performing, it is no easy ride. Each performance requires us to be incredibly versatile and easily adaptable to the size, space and in some cases, shape of the venues! So far we have been lucky enough to perform at some truly iconic theatres across the UK (Hull Truck being my personal highlight!) and a different challenge has presented itself at each. It has been wonderful to meet and work with many different people, from the technicians and stage managers, to the box office and front of house staff at each venue. It is important as a cast that we work together, but ultimately respect the decisions of our Team Leader, and when it comes to the logistics of day to day planning, it is crucial that everyone is cooperative, understanding and flexible. The most memorable moment of the tour so far was rocking up at midnight to our digs in South Wales to discover we were staying in a Mexican-themed hostel (yes, you read that correctly!). Not only that, but we were greeted by two rowdy sets of stag do’s! It was an interesting weekend, to say the least. A lot of time is spent on the road, and driving up and down the country can be extremely tiring, but as a cast, we have found that a good Power Ballad CD or old ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ Album can make the journeys fly by! My advice to having a successful tour? Have fun, look after yourselves, and above all, embrace the challenges!

Clara's Blog: Puppeteering for Children

Performing in Children’s Theatre is like nothing else on this planet. Imagine an audience full of critics who will let everyone know exactly how they feel about the show… whilst your still performing it! It’s great fun to have an audience that is so truly involved with what is happening but it can be incredibly distracting and as an actor there is a lot to remember anyway; lines, positions on stage, lines, props, lines, other actors, and did I mention lines? Add to this an inanimate object that you have to bring to life in so convincing a manner that the children don’t question it’s being anything other than real and alive and there you have the fantastic challenge that is puppeteering for children’s theatre, and I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else! The thing that always amazes me is that the children truly believe in what they see on stage. The world created in the theatre is real to them in a way that it no longer is when you are an adult and their complete enthusiasm in what you are doing is contagious. The children love the puppets and the stories that you tell using them. They want to meet them afterwards and pet them because they don’t see a puppet- they see a rabbit or a horse or a little boy or whatever else it might be. They don’t see you holding the puppet up or moving it’s head or speaking in it’s voice- you cease to be the reality for the child and the puppet takes your place. The funny thing is I almost feel the same way towards the puppets now- I love them as a beautiful uncomplicated elements to my job and whilst holding the puppet I can’t help but either talk directly to it or talk in it’s voice constantly. It’s a little bit crazy how fond I am of the Velveteen Rabbit puppet but I have spent so much time developing his voice and movement and learning how to create his world that actually I think it would be crazier if I felt nothing for him.

These shows are full of an infectious magic that is really heightened by the puppets in a way that having actors playing the parts just couldn’t achieve and I have really enjoyed being a part of the whole experience; learning new skills and applying them to the creative process of making The Velveteen Rabbit and Greek Myths for Kids has been great fun and very rewarding and I would happily do it all over again, if for no other reason than to spend a little more time with my bunny puppet.

Jo's Blog: Getting Involved

Janne Gale




Audience participation is a huge part of what Backhand do and believe in. We want our audience to be with us all the way and have the best experience. Backhand and us as performers really love chatting and getting our audiences ideas, bonding and breaking the wall between audience and performer. In theatre for a younger audience it can often be the first time a child has been to the theatre, it can be very scary, there is lights, glitter, music and Backhand feel that it is important to let them know that they have a voice, they can support and laugh with the characters and that they should not be afraid to be fully immersed in the story; that is the wonderful thing about theatre, it is completely 4D and the audience are there living it with us here and now. They are just, if not more important as the story being told. They are part of it. At the beginning of our plays we are out the front, waving, saying hello, and sometimes asking our audience questions as well as them asking us. Within the plays, we use singing, making actions, asking for audience help, a hug, and ideas. At the end it’s a vital part of our process to say good bye, come out into the auditorium, maybe bring the puppets, have pictures, hugs, for some of the older members of the audience they are curious about the puppets or how we did some of the play…although we never let them know too much of the magic. It just finishes off the whole experience. I feel the whole process works very well and it is certainly rewarding for both the audience and us as storytellers. We get to know our audience and they get to know us.

Blog by Chris: Making it Happen!

Hi! Chris here! When I'm not running around with/or followed by puppets I'm also partly responsible for the technical aspects of The Velveteen Rabbit and Greek Myths for Kids. Lighting and sound are both very important to our shows as they help create the world of the stories we are telling. Lighting wise we try and create a vibrant and beautiful mix of colours and states that help bring you into the story, but also further illustrate the scenes - as well as helping you see us!. Sound also plays a very large part in our productions and we were lucky enough to have some beautiful music composed for us by Ben Lawrence who has done a wonderful job as all the music underscores both stories fantastically. The combination of both the lighting and sound together not only paint a beautiful picture, but hopefully let us make the magic of the stories come to life.