Well, that title may be misleading because we have plenty of wonderful actors in our production. However, we do also have a starring cast of puppets, traditional and non traditional alike. But you’ll have to wait for some of those surprises when you come and see the show!
Today we are talking to our designer, co-writer and now puppet maker, Heather Rimington. (Who is finding this experience very metaphysical indeed as she is writing this entire article)
So Heather, what made you and James include puppets, and especially sock puppets, in this pantomime?
Well, it stemmed from a decision made before I entered the process. The original concept of this production is the brainchild of David Bullen, our co-artistic director, Simon Sladon, our resident pantomime expert and general comrade and James Walker-Black, a artistic associate of the company like myself and is in fact playing the role of Mrs. Bennet! Anyway, they had come up with the excellent idea that the three younger Bennet sisters, Mary, Lydia and Kitty, could be played by the same actress. We toyed with a lot of ways of doing this, from wig swapping to masks, however the idea that stuck was sock puppets! It provides such wonderful opportunities for our actress Chloe Wilcox as well the rest of our cast. And the sock puppets are pretty adorable.
But how will your actress operate three puppets at the same time?
She won’t, that’s the beauty of it! Her central character will be Mary, who will in turn operate Lydia and Kitty one on each hand.
Ah I see. But I also see you have more than just the two sister puppets?
I’ll explain. Although we are working in an intimate space with a compact cast, we still wanted to create the extravagant populace of the numerous balls. Seeing as we had already introduced the idea of Lydia and Kitty as sock puppets it seemed natural to extend this idea. Therefore all the other sock puppets you can see are our posh and dandy ball guests, so expect some hilarious sock puppet dancing in the show.
Tutorial: How to make your own Pride and Prejudice sock puppet
Take your generic sport socks and slit the toe end to make a mouth (untraditional method but bear with me)
Get a nice big bowl of brewed tea and dump your socks in. Give them a good swoosh around like it is a magic potion before taking out and rising (this makes the dye less patchy, I recommend the use of a sieve)
If you are rich them you can do this in a tumble drier, but as I am poor I dried them over the kitchen radiator, to the obvious pleasure of my flat mates
Eyes are the windows to the soul and all that so give your sock puppets some soul be sewing on some button eyes. Top Tip: If you use white wool to sew these on it adds a bit of sparkle into otherwise dead button eyes
Hairology, in the Glee sense, hair is awesome and with a sock puppet pretty much defines their entire character. This happy little sock puppet in progress is Lydia. Take some wool and cut it into lengths, stitch down the middle to make a secure parting, or just tie it all together if you are lazy. Style. Then stitch the whole shebang above your sock puppet’s eyes.
Cut an oval of foam and score down the centre so it folds easily into a mouth. I bet you all know where this is going…
This is the most technical part of our puppets and if you want to be dull and defeatist you don’t have to create the mouth this way. You can just shove your hand in and push the toe back in like the way children make sock puppets. Or you can be awesome and stitch the edges of the sock mouth opening to the edges of the foam oval. Right sides together y’all, turn the right side out again and voilà
Marvel in the success of your beautiful sock puppets. Aren’t you great. This way when your friends all desert you for sitting in your room making sock puppets all day you will still have someone to talk to
– Heather Rimington
