Who is Bek Palmer? Shoemakers shop builder extraordinaire!

WE JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF BEK PALMER! She is returning a fourth time to design a set for one of Theatre Hullabaloo's productions, The Elves and the Shoemakers, which will be touring the UK this winter. 

Bek has worked as a Theatre Designer since graduating from LIPA and later studied Post Graduate Theatre Design at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Previous set and costume designs include; Angel and The Night Pirates for Theatre Hullabaloo, My Mother Told Me Not To Stare for Theatre Hulabaloo and Action Transport Theatre, Godfather Death for Warhorse Theatreworks, A Midsummer Night’s Dream  for British Touring Shakespeare, The Provoked Wife for The Courtyard Theatre, the opera Cendrillon for Sherman Theatre, Cardiff and Dr Korczak’s Example Birmingham Young Rep Company.  Bek regularly works as Assistant Designer for Theatre Alibi and specialises in designing and making puppets.

Other work includes Assistant Designer on Mr Benn for Tall Stories, Assistant Designer for Theatre Alibi’s last 8 shows, installation artist for Punchdrunk on The Duchess of Malfi and working as Wardrobe Mistress for Qdos Pantomimes and onboard production shows on the Cunard fleet of ships.

The Man behind the Elf

Gilbert Taylor will be playing the boy elf in Theatre Hullabaloo's The Elves and the Shoemakers this winter. Here is his biography: 

Recent work includes: 'The Lonely One' with Dotted Line Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe, Michael Rosen’s ‘Going on a bear Hunt’ with the Little Angel Theatre, dreamthinkspeaks’ ‘The Rest is Silence’ at the Brighton Festival, ‘Charlotte’s Web’ and Quentin Blake's 'All Join In', both at Polka Theatre. 

Also within the last year he has appeared at the Globe Theatre in ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ and has collaborated with danteordie, Nonesuch Theatre, Theatre Rites and The Berry Theatre on ‘Hansel and Gretel’. He is currently working on two new shows: ‘Three Tiny Seeds’ with Emma Higham and ‘White Canvas’ with Passé-Muraile, which will premiere at the Cayeux Theatre Festival in France 2013.

He is a founder member of theatre collectives Unpacked & Chopped Logic. Gilbert has an MA from the Central School of Speech and Drama and a BA from the University of Surrey. He likes biscuits and lives by the sea in Brighton! For more info go to: www.gilberttaylor.com

Girl (Elf) Power

Tigger Blaize will be playing the part of the Girl Elf in Theatre Hullabaloo's new version of The Elves and the Shoemakers. Here is a bit from her about why she makes the perfect Elf:

I am from Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, and am currently living between Oxford and London - no, not High Wycombe. I mean I am living in Oxford but hoping to move back to London soon, which is where I consider 'home' to be.

I was completely in the right place at the right time when I heard about the auditions for Hulaballoo's "The Elves and The Shoemakers". I was on tour with Vamos Theatre's full mask Olympics-inspired show, "Much Ado About Wenlock". A friend came to see it on tour in Brighton, and during a post-show afternoon tea, she mentioned that Hullabaloo were soon to be producing the "Elves..." as their Christmas show. I got onto it straight away and sent an e-mail to Miranda proclaiming my elf-likeness. I've wanted to work with the company for a long time, they have an excellent reputation and the work is always of a really high calibre. I am passionate about children's theatre and was delighted to get an audition. 

I remember having lots of the Grimm's fairy tales and they really made an impression on me. I think I always identified with the free-spirit nature of the elves, and I have a lot of energy to share, so the part of Girl Elf was incredibly appealing! A lot of people describe me as 'elfin', so I think this is a great opportunity to explore.  I am so excited and pleased to accept the job.

The tour is going to be ace! I'm looking forward to working so far up north, as I haven't really covered this area much in my career. I like the vibe in Liverpool, and I've worked at The Unity before and it's always lovely to return to a place you've enjoyed. 

I can't wait to get started. The two days research and development in Darlington last week were awesome! The other actors are talented and lovely, and Sarah and Miranda are full of ideas. I think my main challenges for the rehearsal period will be to make the puppet characters live. I want to get really good at working with my puppet. Is it nearly Christmas...?

Best Wishes, Big love,

Tigger

Slightly Elvish behaviour!

Marieke Van Hoof will be playing the Old Woman in Theatre Hullabaloo's The Elves and The Shoemakers this winter. Here she is talking about her experience so far:

So. Rehearsals are upon us! I have been so excited to have been offered the job, and to be honest I am quite relieved I get to play an old woman rather than an elf. I'm not sure I'd be able to do all the bouncing and jumping and puppeteering that the elves are going to have to do.

But we have a great team, after the first read through we are all very happy about the script and I think we will be able to make something really magical.

Sarah Brigham is one of the most amazing people I have ever worked with, I think she is a bit of an elf herself: it's amazing how much work she manages to cram into a day. Apart from the read through, we looked at some puppets made by John Barber, and we tried out bits and bobs on the floor. Sarah made us build our own puppet, I can tell you that arts and crafts have never been my forte, and my puppet looked like a cross between a pig, a spaceship and some VERY crumpled unidentified heap of paper. After rehearsals we went for a curry and I retired early because I simply HAD to finish part 3 of The Hunger Games. Bit addictive.

Day 2 was fabulous too, with some nice interaction between me and Adrian (who plays the old man) exploring our relationship and then putting some of the script on its feet. Sarah is in there straight away, telling us off in the nicest possible way for making the opening far too tragic. It should all be light and fun, we were being soooo earnest with those great Mike Kenny lines. We had a talk about the tour- Unicorn and take off festival will be fab, and it will be the third time for me that I perform at the Rose Theatre in Ormskirk, and then I discovered that my costume has been used in the olympics opening ceremony. Very very cool!!

Now we have a few months before we really get going, I cannot wait. I'm going back to home country Belgium for a bit, to do various things including another play and i have put a big circle in my diary over October the 8th. See you all in Eastleigh!

PS oh yes, so here's a funny thing about my name: I'm Rose officially, but everybody has to call me Marieke. it's a weird Dutch tradition which confuses everybody including myself! 

Marieke Van Hoof

Re-introducing Adrian (The old Shoe maker)

Adrian Palmer played the part of Louis in Theatre Hullabaloo's production of Angel, by Kevin Dyer, in spring 2012. He is returning to play the part of the Old Man in The Elves and the Shoemakers, which will be touring to venues across the UK this winter. Here is a bit of information about Adrian:

I was born in Richmond, Surrey nearly 54 years ago and brought up in Banstead, also in Surrey.  I now live peripatetically in the North of England on a narrow boat.  Currently moored in Sandbach, Cheshire, where I am appearing in Much Ado About Nothing as Leonato for Folksy Theatre, on tour to open air venues mainly in the NW and the West Country.  Full details - www.folksytheatre.co.uk/

The Elves and the Shoemakers was a particularly favourite story of mine as a child so I am really looking forward to playing the Old Shoemaker.  I still wonder what is the moral - is it a homily to patriarchal capitalism where the kind governors look after the workers who have made their fortune or is there a deeper message ?  I could ruminate further on this.

I have worked for Hullabaloo once before in 'Angel' about a friendship between a young girl and an old woman slipping into dementia so am very pleased to be returning and looking forward to being part of a great team.

Adrian Palmer

To find out more about The Elves and The Shoemakers, which will be touring this winter, click on the link http://www.theatrehullabaloo.org.uk/shows-detail.asp?showid=81