Annual Report Year ending 31 March 2014

Charity no. 232488

There is magic in this compact theatre and its glowing stage

Time Out

THANK YOU Thank you to everyone who has supported Little Angel Theatre since April 2013. Golden Angels – supporting the 2014 revival of Jabberwocky

Sarah-Jane Fenton Roger Mears Clive Owen Dr Felix von Reiswitz Betty Taylor Guardian Angel Supporters

Alice Brotherhood Anonymous Restoration SOS (2014 Capital Campaign) Individual Supporters

Anne Hutton Anthony Hanson Karen Ford and Geoffrey Howe Lee Hall and Beeban Kidron Mary Buckley Micky and Tuba Johnson Peter Edwards Sally Fleming Sharon White Tom Stoppard Company of Angels – Little Angels, Family Angels and Arch Angels

Trust and Foundation Supporters

The 1970 Trust The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust Anthony and Rachel Williams Charitable Trust The Arsenal Foundation Chapman Charitable Trust Cripplegate Foundation Drapers’ Charitable Fund Ernest Cook Trust Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Foyle Foundation Garfield Weston Foundation Goldsmiths’ Company Charity Golsconcott Foundation Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation Help a Capital Child Horseshoe Trust J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust Mercers Company Molecule Theatre Company Monument Trust Old Possum’s Practical Trust Paul Hamlyn Foundation Royal Victoria Hall Foundation Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation Sylvia Waddilove Charitable Trust Public Sector Supporters

London Borough of Islington Arts Council England Corporate Supporters

John Lewis Oxford Street Currell Residential

YEAR AT A GLANCE

Audiences 41,437 at Little Angel Theatre - average 78% capacity filled 33,476 on tour 74,913 in total – our highest ever attendance Performances 397 in-house LAT company 79 visiting companies at LAT 276 LAT on tour Education and Participation 5,300 child and adult participants Fifth consecutive year of our Puppeteer in Residence at Thornhill School 74 puppet making workshops took place in schools, community centres and other private settings Professional Development 20+ emerging companies supported through our INCUBATE programme, and HATCH and FIRSTS Festivals. Masterclasses and workshops throughout the year, including training professionals in Long String Marionettes and puppet carving Access Over 700 disadvantaged children and families offered free tickets or workshop places through our Puppets For All scheme £5 tickets available for most shows; highest ticket price £14 Value £4 raised for £1 received as a grant or donation of any kind Staff and Emplyoment 11 staff, of which 7 are full-time. Paid employment provided for approx. 130 artists, 12 technicians, 25 workshop leaders and another 80+ a year gaining experience as volunteers and students on work placements

NEW PRODUCTION

WE’RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT 11 May – 21 July 2013

By Michael Rosen / Adapted by Barb Jungr & Peter Glanville / Music and Lyrics by Barb Jungr / Directed by Peter Glanville / Puppet Design by Lyndie Wright / Set Design by Simon Plumridge Attendance: 11,746

You couldn’t wish for a sweeter introduction to theatre

★ ★ ★ ★ Time Out

NEW PRODUCTION MACBETH

5 October – 10 November 2013

Adapted and Directed by Peter Glanville / Music composed by James Hesford / Puppets designed by Lyndie Wright / Set designed by Peter O’Rourke Attendance: 2,987

Glanville’s last production is a marvel

★ ★ ★ ★ The Observer

Dustpan Odyssey (Compagnie Philippe Genty)

12 VENUES – 24 COMPANIES – 135 PERFORMANCES GROUNDBREAKING PUPPETRY FOR ADULT AUDIENCES AND WORLD CLASS TRAINING

Venues: Battersea Arts Centre, Jacksons Lane, King’s Head Theatre, Little Angel Theatre, New

Diorama Theatre, Puppet Barge Theatre, Pleasance Theatre, Rosemary Branch, Tristan Bates Theatre, The Actors Centre, V&A, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Companies: Compagnie Philippe Genty, Movingstage Marionette Company, Jess Mabel Jones,

Flabbergast Theatre, Horse+Bamboo Theatre, Untied Artists, Puppet Grinder Cabaret, Dotted Line Theatre, El Retrete de Dorian Gray, DudaPaiva Company, Pickled Image, Blind Summit, Grist to the Mill, Smoking Apples, Sparkle and Dark, Touched Theatre, Invisible Thread Theatre, Silent Tide, Goody and Storey, Theatre Temoin, The Great Puppet Horn, Metta Theatre.

Still only in its third incarnation, the 2013 Suspense Festival has grown into something really far reaching The Stage

London Puppetry Festival 2013

NEW PRODUCTION

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS 16 November 2013 – 5 January 2014

Directed by Ben Glasstone / Music and Lyrics by Ben Glasstone / Co-written by Ben Glasstone & Tim Kane / Designed by Michael Fowkes Attendance: 8,005

Add a ticket to your Christmas wish list quick!

Curious Mum

REVIVALS

DOGS DON’T DO BALLET 11 December 2013 – 2 February 2014 . Directed by David Duffy / Adapted by David Duffy and Andrea Sadler / Set and props designed by Tim Sykes / Puppets and costumes designed by Keith Frederick Attendance: 6,624

SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD 15 January – 23 February 2014 Directed and Designed by Joy Haynes / Originally devised by Joy Haynes, Rachel Leonard and Andrew Nixon / Music composed by Arran Glass / Puppets made by Jan Zalud Attendance: 5,257

ADDITIONAL PROJECTS

Meeting the BFG at the Summer Party – September 2014

Little Angel provided puppetry for Shakespeare’s

Globe’s Muse of Fire project – September 2013

ADDITIONAL PROJECTS

Our puppets fly in Scarabeus Aerial

Theatre’s La Tempesta – August 2013

Little Angel worked with Royal & Derngate Northampton and Polka Theatre

to create the puppets for Moominsummer Madness – January 2014

FAMILY SHOWS The Gingerbread Man (The Rainbow Collectors), The Tinderbox (Norwich Puppet Theatre), Hullaba Lulu (Thingmajig Theatre), Cloud Child (DNA Puppetry), Nice (Folded Feather), Nobody Rides the Unicorn (Puppetcraft),

Red Riding Hood (Horse + Bamboo)

VISITING COMPANIES

Nobody Rides the Unicorn- March 2014

Red Riding Hood – March 2014

ADULT SHOWS Puppets on Film Festival, The Girl with No Heart (Sparkle and Dark’s Travelling Players), The Girl with the Iron Claws (The Wrong Crowd), My Life with Puppets (Ronnie Le Drew), Platero – Travels with a Donkey (Mike Maran Productions and Marjanishvili Theatre)

VISITING COMPANIES

The Girl with the Iron Claws – April 2013

The Fantasist – March 2013

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TOURING – NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL REACH

HANDA’S SURPRISE 18 – 23 February 2014 at JW3, 27-28 February 2014 at National Theatre of Doha, Qatar Adaoted frin the book by Eileen Browne / Directed by Marleen Vermeulen / Designed by Sophia Lovell Smith

Touring venues visited 2013/14 (excluding schools and community centres):

Aberystwyth Arts Centre Anvil Arts Arts Depot Barnsley Civic Brighton Dome Broadway Barking Canada Water Culture Space Carriageworks Theatre Chipping Norton Theatre Citadel Arts Centre City of London Festival Compass Theatre Ickenham Cornerstone Didcot Curve Theatre Folkestone Quarterhouse Greenwich Theatre Gulbenkian Theatre Half Moon Theatre Harrogate Theatre Royal Harrow Arts Centre Haverhill Arts Centre Jackson’s Lane JW3 Lakeside Arts Centre mac birmingham National Theatre of Doha, Qatar New Wolsey Theatre Norden Farm Northern Stage Norwich Puppet Theatre Polka Theatre Pound Arts Centre Royal Albert Hall Square Chapel Stratford Circus Taliesin Arts Centre Tara Arts The Albany The Core at Corby Cube The Edge Theatre and Arts Centre the egg at Theatre Royal Bath The Hawth Theatre The Junction The North Wall The Tricycle Watermans Arts Centre Waterside Arts Centre Winchester Discovery Centre Wolverhampton Arena York Theatre Royal

DOGS DON’T DO BALLET Spring UK Tours (2013 & 2014) and Christmas 2014 run at New Wolsey Theatre

SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD Spring UK Tour 2014

WE’RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT Autumn UK tours (2013 & 2014) & Christmas run at The Albany

Can there be a more educative performing arts venue in London, given that Little Angel does education and training at so many levels? For a start, young children come and taste live theatre quite literally scaled down to their size…. Learning and development at every level. Deeply inspiring and something which many another small venue could emulate Susan Elkin, The Stage

TAKE PART

Macbeth: ‘The One-Half World’ Little Angel Youth Theatre – March 2014

Termly classes for children and young people Crafty Kids – ages 2-5 Saturday Puppet Club – ages 6-11 Little Angel Youth Theatre – ages 12-17

TAKE PART Termly evening classes for adults

Adult Beginners Adult Makers Adult Performers

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TAKE PART

Thornhill School uses creativity to unlock the potential of their students. Chloe Purcell has been our Puppeteer in residence there for 5 years

We worked with Arsenal Football Club to create a puppetry show to celebrate 100 years of Arsenal in the community and introduce new young

people to puppetry

TAKE PART

We also offer INSET days (early years puppet making INSET pictured), theatre tours, production-themed Fun Days, and in-school workshops.

During 2013 we hosted Hands On2! Applied Puppetry Symposium

Professional Development

Little Angel Theatre opens its doors and offers a multitude of opportunities to young professionals looking to develop their skills and further their careers, both within puppetry and beyond. We ran training courses in Long String Marionette Puppetry, puppet carving, voice work for performers, lighting for puppetry, costuming for puppetry and writing for puppetry. We also supported emerging companies with free space for research and development through our INCUBATE programme. HATCH Festival allowed companies to test out work in progress before friendly audiences, and FIRSTS is their chance to present fully formed premieres of new work. 50% of FIRSTS companies have gone on to tour their work more widely.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Marionette Carving with John Roberts

Long String Marionette Training with Ronnie Le Drew

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Stage Lighting for Puppetry with David Duffy

Costuming for Puppetry with Keith Frederick

Little Angel Theatre is a registered charity (no. 232488). We rely on grants and income from fees and ticket sales to cover our operating costs. In setting the level of ticket prices, charges and concessions, the Trustees give careful consideration to the accessibility of the theatre for those on low incomes. This is done through the Puppets for All scheme, as well as maintaining reasonable ticket prices and specific low price performances. The Trustees have a risk management strategy to annually assess the major risks to the organisation, particularly to the operations and finances of the theatre, and ensure that systems are in place to mitigate our exposure to those risks. In the year ending 31st March 2014, the organisation’s turnover was £890,569 and we showed a surplus of £2,098 for the year. We have unrestricted reserves of £90,639, which equates to just over one month’s running costs. The theatre relies on grants and donations in the region of £160,000-£200,000 every year to keep going. The original owners prudently bought a property in Islington at the same time as the theatre itself, which provides useful rental income each year. We manage it efficiently to keep costs down. Little Angel Theatre receives no core funding from Arts Council England or Islington Council. 2013-14 was the sixth consecutive year of growth of turnover. Since 2004, Little Angel Theatre’s turnover has more than doubled.

FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

Since 31st March 2014, the organisation has continued to thrive, presenting a co-production with Polka Theatre of Skitterbang Island, an opera for 3-6 year olds, Fantastic Mr Fox in the autumn and a winter season consisting of Cindermouse and Jabberwocky, both of which achieved Time Out Critics Choice status. We have presented shows on tour for 42 of the weeks during this calendar year, including Christmas runs of Dogs Don’t Do Ballet at the New Wolsey in Ipswich and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt at the Albany. We opened Little Angel Studios, our new creation and training centre for puppetry, which will allow us to quadruple our offer to local schools, residents and community organisations, as well as providing much needed research and development opportunities and professional training for puppeteers. The year ahead holds many exciting prospects: two brand new productions, The Paper Dolls and The Journey Home will headline Little Angel’s programming next year, followed by SUSPENSE 2015 – the return of our biennial festival of puppetry for adult audiences. We will see our activities at Little Angel Studios grow, placing us at the heart of talent development within the community of Islington and beyond. Little Angel Theatre is one of the core members of the Puppetry Development Steering Group, who have received a grant from Arts Council England to develop a strategic action plan for puppetry as an art form and as an industry in this country. We are working alongside representatives from Battersea Arts Centre, Norwich Puppet Theatre, Theatre-Rites and Puppet Centre. Little Angel Theatre will continue to produce, promote and develop puppetry in all its forms.

2014 AND BEYOND

The BFG at the Little Angel Theatre Summer Party 2014

Thank you to all of the people and organisations who were part of Little Angel Theatre since April 2013: Trustees

Dmitry Bosky Sophie Clissold Matt Chappel David Cooper Jane Eve Meena Gill Rhian Harris Chris Lowry Katie Owen Fiona Philips Office Staff Adam Bennett Alex Carter Rosie Curtis David Duffy Peter Glanville Wood Godwin Laura Halliwell Slavka Jovanovic Catrin Lowe Anne Mayer Terry Muzzell Miranda Pitcher Heather Ralph Sarah Schofield Lynette Shanbury Kaya Stanley-Money Martin Walsh Chris Wootton Interns (on educational placements) Si Kei Chan Justina Daryluta Karen Gronborg Alex Helsby Ashton Mayer Kate Powell Nick Saunders E.J. Stedman Ilaria Tedeschi Chantal Veness Gabby Wallace Beth Warnock Linda Weichlein Front of House and Box Office Jessica Blaxland-Ashby Verity Clayton Katie Haniford Vera Janke Kathryn Stephens-Berry Alan Stratford Nicola Taylor Technicians Daisy Beattie Stefan Budirahardjo Sherry Coenen Emilie Cheshire

Jacob Corn Sarah Cowan Olivia Dudley Victoria Heathcock Beth Hoare-Barnes Nicola Maddox Chris Marsh-Hilfiker Jason Vakharia Rebekah Wild Associate Artists Darren East (2013) Greta Clough (2014) Puppeteer in Residence (Thornhill School) Chloe Purcell Education and Professional Development Workshop Leaders and Assistants Rene Baker Amelia Bird Ceri Black Jonathan Broughton Hyungjung Choi Jacquie Crago Sue Dacre Amber Donovan David Duffy Scott Durkin Bronia Evers Keith Frederick Kelly Frost Laura Halliwell Alice Harding Judith Hope Oliver Hymans Carol Justin Raven Kaliana Roger Lade Thierry Lawson Ronnie Le Drew Anna Maltz Peter O’Rourke Chloe Purcell John Roberts Alice Searle Marie Sennyey Joanne Skapinker Tinka Slavicek Oliver Smart Catherine Thomas Steve Tiplady Rachel Warr Volunteers

Bethlehem Admassie Shelley Ayliffe Anna Baldwin Johanna Balog Frances Barry

Sophie Barth Dan Bell Melissa Bonnelame Emily Burgess Anne-Marie Cancienne Scott Cater Hyunjung Choi Ana Corrie Luisa Cotardo Francesca Crespi Ann Cross Sabrina Daniele Amber Donovan Louise de Froment Esther Dobson Rosa Douglas Edie Edmundson Darryl Edwards Anjum Faruq Angela Fieldman-Bernal Bryn Fitch Adele Flore Laura Francis Alessandro Gallo Maria Garcia Jorge Godoy Francesca Grasso Meltem Gunaydin Esther Hamburger Katie Haniford Rosemary Hanson Rasfan Haval Florence Hazard Beth Hoare-Barnes Beth Hopkins Natasha Houghton Rose Hughes Matthew Hutchinson Kate James-Moore Vera Janke Jessica Jensen Janice Keisinger Winfred Kent Mary Klaber Piotr Klinger Lara Kluczynski Jessica Knight Anna Laviniere Kain Leo Emilia Liberatore Nicola Lloyd Ainoa Mela Lopez Kezia Louch Alison Mann Catherine March Kirsty McCarter Jane Melrose Kamye Miessen Laura Moran-Morris Kinga Nadolna Sarah Nakandi Elizabeth Noble

MAKING IT HAPPEN

Joanna Norledge Catalina Oana Mihai Jane O'Donoghue Allison Ouvry Ines Pagniez Ella Parmer Jenkins Louisa Parris Rachel Peng Nicola Pontin Vanessa Pouso-Rios Kate Powell Carolina Rieckhof Jenny Rogers Peyvand Sadeghian Marie Sennyey Sophia Sibthorpe Karol Silva Ben Spooner Reva Srinivasan Marianne Stafford Alice Stanley Gabriel Stewart Lynda Sullivan Hetty Tapper Carolina Torres Canabate Athanasios Tsolkas Matthew Vile Dilpreet Walia Mikyla Warr Linda Weichlein Alanna Wells Kayoko Yamazoe Shows – creatives, performers and stage managers Ceri Ashcroft Louisa Ashton Chris Barham Mikey Brett Jonathan Broughton Brett Brown Ruth Calkin Jacob Corn Sarah Cowan Sue Dacre Nele De Craecker Amber Donovan Olivia Dudley David Duffy Sam Dutton Josh Elwell Susi Evans Michael Fowkes Peter Glanville Arran Glass Ben Glasstone Claire Harvey Joy Haynes Vicky Heathcock James Hesford Beth Hoare-Barnes Lori Hopkins Krystle Hylton Lowri James Julia Jeulin Barb Jungr

Keith Jury Tim Kane Michal Keyamo Roger Lade Ronnie Le Drew Rachel Leonard Sophia Lovell Smith Jess Mabel Jones Steven Maddocks Nicola Maddox Hannah Marshall Chris Marsh-Hilfiker Helen McCrory Laura McEwen Stan Middleton Katharine Moraz Sani Muliaumaseali’i Chris Nayak Peter O’Rourke Nathaniel Parker Caroline Partridge Simon Plumridge Clare Pointing Phil Porter Chloe Purcell Natalie Raybould Andrea Sadler Nick Saunders Alex Scott Christopher Staines Donald Sumpter Tim Sykes Gilbert Taylor Catherine Thomas Steve Tiplady Mandy Travis Jason Vakharia Marleen Vermeulen Toniche Wallace Martin Ward Louise Warren Rebekah Wild George Williams Sarah Woods Amanda Wright Lyndie Wright Sarah Wright Jan Zalud Authors and Illustrators Eileen Browne Anna Kemp Sara Ogilvie Katherine Quarmby Michael Rosen INCUBATE participants (2013) Darren East Joni-Rae Carrack Tom Frankland INCUBATE participants (2014)

Rachel Warr and Matt Hutchinson Michael Fowkes Theatr Temoin

HATCH participants (Sep 2013) Ben Glasstone Ceri Ashcroft & Anna Tolputt Frollicked Genius Sweatshop Handheld Arts Jane Eve Moon on a Stick Project Boondock Silly Boys Smoking Apples and Little Cauliflower Sort of Theatre Trembling hands HATCH participants (Sep 2014) Animate Inanimate Around the Glove Dogfish Theatre Folkadot Theatre Handheld Arts Lux & Vox Skeyne Theatre Smoking Apples FIRSTS companies (March 2014)

Darren East/Touched Theatre LAMA Creative Smoking Apples/Little Cauliflower/Red Threaders Sort of Theatre Tiny Light Partnerships 13/14 Arsenal Football Club Battersea Arts Centre Brewhouse & Kitchen Islington Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Chipotle Currell Gill Wing HMDT Music Islington Museum Institute of Education King’s Head Theatre Middlesex University New Diorama Norwich Puppet Theatre Pleasance Theatre Polka Theatre Pop Up Festival of Stories Puppet Barge Rosemary Branch Royal & Derngate Theatre Scarabeus Aerial Theatre Shakespeare’s Globe Stephen Einhorn The Actors Centre The Rose Bowl Theatre-Rites Thornhill School Tristan Bates Theatre Turtle Key Arts V&A Museum Waterstones

Little Angel Theatre 14 Dagmar Passage, London N1 2DN

020 7226 1787