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What's On I post any public performances on the What's On section of the PuppeteersUK site. Always worth a look to see what is happening in UK Puppetry, click (here)
January 2012
This looks like being an intersting year. It
sees the official anniversary of Mr Punch in England and Clive is involved in various plans to celebrate this. He can
also look forward to a number of trips overseas. He will be in France June with his giant puppets and in Holland in
September with his Punch and Judy Show. He will also be visiting Hungary again this year.
January itself
looks like a busy month again. Clive is back working with The Museum of Cannock Chase with 12 performances. As
part of this he is being interviewed for a German radio ducumentary. He will also be visiting a number of schools to
deliver his traditional stories and has several days of puppet making workshops.
December 2011
As usual a very busy run of school shows. Most of the schools I will be visiting have
booked me every year for more than ten years. I am also performing at the Museum of Cannock Chase family day on Sunday
4th December
November 2011
I have been
delivering an 8 day project at Bentley West Primary School in Walsall. We have been exploring shadow puppetry with four
classes from Year One and Year Two. In year two we told the story of the Great Fire of London with Shadow Puppets that
we made. We made a film of our story which is to be shared with the rest of the school and shown to parents. I
have also been performing at schools in Wednesbury and Telford. I have done another six peformances of Punch and Judy
for the Museum of Cannock Chase. At Wren's Nest Primary in Dudley I have been doing four performances of Jack
and The Beanstalk. The children there are fantastic listeners. On the 26th and 27th of the month I shall be at Ludlow
Medieval Christmas Fayre once again - with Brother Sid, the Giant dancing monk. After that the Christmas schools shows
start to kick in. I begin the run at Warwick Prep School.
October 2011
This month I am moving to a bigger and better studio space. This will
give me more workshop and rehearsal space and secure storage. Once again I seem to be busy doing Seaside Punch and Judy
Shows in primary schools. At the end of the month I shall be returning to Ash End House Children's farm (again with
Punch and Judy) and then driving to Belgium to deliver some workshops in the town of Dendermonde. This is a spin off
from my recent visit to the puppet festival in Ghent, where some teachers saw me and thought it would be good for me to work
with their pupils. This will be at secondary level.
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| Playing to the crowd in Slovakia 2011 |
September 2011
Back from
Slovakia where I played alongside Bruno Leone from Italy, Jose Gil from Portugal, Andras Lenart from Hungary and Juraj Hamar
who performed with Gasparko - the Slovak Punch. September will see me at the Swepstone Harvest Extravaganza, the Eveshan
Pie and Ale festival with my Punch and Judy Show, and at the Skipton Puppet festival with my Giant Punch and Judy Puppets.
I also expect enquiries to be coming in from Schools. I have been pleasantly suprised in recent years how many
schools are looking for Punch and Judy as part of their Seaside projects.
August 2011
I am very pleased
to be back at Ash End Children's Farm with my Punch and Judy Show on 3rd and 4th and 10th and 11th August.
For ten days in September I will be Sheffield with Giant Puppets and Punch and Judy for a big seaside event at Meadowhall
Shopping Centre. I will once again be taking Mr Punch to entertain in Ludlow at Dinham Millenium Green - lovely spot alongside
the river, on the bank Holiday Monday. At the end of the month I will be setting of to attend an international festival
of traditional puppetry in Slovakia. The event will take place in Banska Bystrica, the home town of the late Anton Anderle
who was a very important figure in the survival of traditional puppet theatre in Slovakia and its resurgence
following the fall of the communist regime. It is a great honour to be attending an event held in his name, where I will be
performing alongside puppet theatres from across Europe.
July 2011
45 Performances this month. A visit to a major Puppet Festival in Gent, Belgium with my Punch and Judy Show
and also with my Giant Walking Tall puppets. I will be working alongside a range of top international performers including
old friends from Portugal and France. I will also be at the Lincoln Punch and Judy festival and at the Horse and Bamboo
Festival in Lancashire. Once again back at the Museum of Cannock Chase for eight performances to visiting school groups.
Also in Cannock I will be performing at the Party in The Park, and for the same Council I will peforming at Chasewater Innovation
Centre. The month will finsih with performances at The Museum of Cannock Chase for their Family Fun Day on 31 July.
June 2011
More than thirty performances this month! The month begins with a seaside Punch and Judy Show for Wren's Nest
Primary School in Dudley. Then I am back to Blackheath Primary to run a puppet making workshop for Yr 6, which follows
on from my recent Creative Partnerships project. I have a school Fete with Mr Punch at the Blue Coat School in Birmingham
- an event which I do every year, and I will be once again performing at the Family Day at Loughborough University.
The museum of Cannock Chase have invited me to present 14 shows this as part of their traditional tours and
games tour. Firs Primary have invited me back again to entertain at their annual picnic at the school for children and
parents. Other schools shows include Holland House in Sutton Coldfield. Worskshops include Gilberstone Primary.
I also have a trip to Port Talbot in Wales to perform at the coast. I have also built a new improved frame for my Punch and
Judy Show and made a nice new cover. Its good to be busy.
May 2011
The month begins with a visit to my old friends at Dinham Millennium in Ludlow where I will
performing Pinocchio alongside the Maypole Dancing by the banks of the river. Then I will be back to Blackheath
Primary to help the children that I worked with before to perform their shadow shows to invited parents. St
Benendicts in Birmingham have invited me back to run a puppet making workshop as part of their food
day. I have a local fete to do in Repton Derbyshire with Mr Punch. I will be back in Bournville
Infants performing my 'small' Jack and The Beanstalk to 3 reception classes. I am delighted to be
working again at the Museum of Cannock Chase as part of their regular tours and games tours. Due to
popular demand they have doubled the number of days when I will be performing and in May I will be performing
my Punch and Judy show on 14 occassions. They have also asked me to work throughout June and July.
April 2011
This month sees me back at Ash End Children's Farm with Punch and Judy. I am also busy with the final stages of my role as artist in residence at Blackheath Primary School
where I have been helping the children make their own shadow show. At the end of the month I am off to the Scottish Puppet Animation Festival with my new show - The Dragon of Krakow. I am also busy in primary schools and presenting shows to celebrate St George's
day (at The Squirrel Pub) and of course the Royal Wedding.
March 2011
This month has
brought the news I have been hoping for. My application to Arts Council England to develop a new show for theatres -
The Dragon of Krakow - has been approved. The award of £6,600 has allowed me to get to work
straight away. I have already been rehearsing in Lancashire at the base of Horse and Bamboo theatre, where we also gave
performances which were very well received. We are now back in rehearsal in Birmingham for the next stage, which will
include performances in 3 local schools. After that the show will go on tour. We have confirmed bookings for the
Scottish Animation Festival in April and are very much looking forward to performing on the Isle of Mull.
At the
same time I am busy performing schools shows across the West Midlands, and also in Surrey.
February
2011
Continuing my shadow project in St Benedicts, Birmingham.
Starting a new creative partnerships project in Blackheath Primary in Sandwell.
A show for my old friends at Acorns Children's Hospice in Birmingham.
Half term performances
in Sandwell Libraries, and also at Gigglefest at Birmingham Central Library (26 Feb)
January 2011
Working
in schools in Stroud, Solihull, and Dudley.
Starting and exciting project in St Benedicts
school in Birmingham in which I will help the dinnertime supervising staff to tell stories with shadows puppets.
Back at the Museum of Cannock Chase with 12 performances of Punch and Judy, as part of their award winning
Toys and Games tour.
Also working with the active elderly to make Paper Puppets.
Have submitted an
application to Arts Council for a new piece of work - The Dragon of Krakow. This will be based on the initial exploratory workshops undertaken in 2010. No idea if I will get
the funding, but fingers crossed. This will be for a piece to tour theatres in the future.
December
2010
Clive is busy performing shows in schools and museums. This is of course a very hectic
time with some 30 performances all over the region. Venues include Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum
with a traditonal Punch and Judy Show as well as Hereford Cathedral School, Holy Trinity International School in Kidderminster,
Bablake in Coventry and Warwick Prep School with various traditional stories. He is also performing
in Evesham, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromich ,Wolverhampton and Gloucestershire. The majority of the school work involves
visiting old and regular friends but as ever there are a few new venues this year. The run up to Christmas in schools
is always great fun and it is a joy to see so many smiling faces.
November 2010
This month
sees Clive returning from Mistelbach Festival in Austria, where he presented his Giant Punch and Judy Puppets along
The Rickshaw, to a busy few days of Puppet Making workshops in Shaw Hill Primary in Birmingham and Wren's
Nest in Dudley. Both of these are regular repeat bookings. During the month Clive has 10 performances
at the Museum of Cannock Chase with his Punch and Judy Show. This is also very familiar territory. He
will be performing at Old Park special school in Dudley, and at Chivenor in Castle Vale.
As chair of PuppeteersUK he will be up in Cumbria at the base of UpFront Puppet Theatre,
for a networking meeting. Then at the end of the month he will be taking one of his Giant Puppets, Brother Sid, the
Ludlow Medieval Christmas Fayre
 October
2010
The early part of the month is set aside for getting all my equipment in tip top order. In
particular I will be organising my new Studio space for the development of new work. At the end of the month I will
be taking The Rickshaw over to Austria for a major festival in Mistelbach, just north of Vienna.
September 2010
The trip to Bottrop near Essen in Germany was a great success.
I went both with my normal Punch and Judy Show and with the Giant Puppets. The Giant Punch, Judy and Baby baby figures
delighted large audiences as they wandered around the central market area on the Saturday. Mr Punch joined several international
cousins - Kasper (Germany) and Vitez Laslo (Hungary) at the Culture House/Libaray area, on the Sunday. This month will also
see me busy at a corporate funday for Michelin Tyres, and working once again for Birmingham Libraries.
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| In Bottrop Germany |
August
2010
A good collection of shows to do in Libraries in Cannock and Sandwell and at various
events such as the lovely Duck Race Day at Dinham Millennium Green in Ludlow. That said this is probably my least busy
August for a few years. So I am making the most of it and having a bit of a holiday in France while the opportunity
is there. The Autum is already filling up and will include performing at festivals in Austria and Germany.
July 2010
More than twenty shows this month in a variety of
venues, including the Royal Grammar School in Worcester, Birmingham Central Libary, Sanders Park Bromsgrove, and The
Museum of Cannock Chase. A particular highlight has been peformering at Horse and Bamboo Festival in Rosendale Lancashire with
Mr Punch. Indeed the majority of work this month has been with Punch and Judy, which seems to be at least as popular
as ever. This month has also seen the culmination of the research and development stage of Dragon of Krakow which I
have been working on with Martin Bridle from Hand to Mouth Theatre in Southampton and my regular co-worker Jim Duncombe.
We performed it as a work in progress to two groups of local school children at the Newhampton Arts Centre in Wolverhampton.
It seemed to go down really well the audience and we were very pleased with it ourselves. We now have to make plans
for developing the project further.
June
2010
Good to see that the show I helped Language Alive to develop (Little Red Hen) seems to be a big hit
as it tours Birmingham Schools. I am currently developing initial ideas for a new show - Dragon of Krakow. Currently
doing a few workshops which will lead to a sharing early July
Late
May 2010
Had an excellent time in Hungary performing in Tizaalpaar
at the Mikro festival. In
Italy I entertained large crowds of school children in Vigevano, and had great fun in the main square of Pavia where the organisers
described my show as a 'great success'
May 2010
Returning from Hungary to contine
working at the Museum of Cannock Chase and with Language Alive. Also performing at primary schools in Birmingham and
Wolverhampton. Visiting the May Fayre in London's Covent garden where I expect to perform. Taking Mr Punch to perform
in Italy for the Segnali Festival near Milan.
April 2010
Starting work with Language
Alive in Birmingham as a consultant artist. Helping them develop the use of puppetry in their new show - Little
Red Hen. Visiting Ash End Children's Farm once again with my Punch and Judy Show. Fitting out my new studio
space with blackout curtains. Starting work on my new show for PuppetLink - The Dragon of Krakow. The start of
a new season with the Museum of Cannock Chase, performing as part of their award winning Toys and Games tours. Visiting
the town of tisaalpar in Hungary for a Mikro Festival organised by my old friend Andras Lenart, where I will perform.
Also calling in at Ciroka Theatre in Keckskemet to visit old friends and see their latest work.
March 2010
A dozen or so shows in local
schools, a trip to schools in Surrey, puppet making workshops in Stroud, and a Punch and Judy show for a Wedding Reception.
Also started to work with Language Alive on Little Red Hen - am working as director of puppetry, and developing a new project
with Martin Bridle of Hand to Mouth Theatre company based on the Polish Legend - The Dragon of Krakow. If this
goes well we will seek to make a new touring production in 2011. On top of all this Clive will be attending a meeting of UK
puppet festivals, and a meeting of The Punch and Judy Fellowship. Also negotiating the use of dedicated studio space
for storage, making and the development of new work. Laying plans for a trip to a puppet festival in Hungary in April and
May.
February 2010
A return visit to Shaw Hill School for 3 days of Shadow Puppets on the the theme of Romans, a visit to Acorns Children's
Hospice, an appearance at Birmingham Central Library as part of Gigglefest, and Churchdown Libary in Gloucester with Pinocchio
January 2010
Plenty
of school shows, a family puppet making workshop for the Quakers, and 12 shows for the Museum of Cannock Chase
December 2009
A busy month with some thirty shows in Schools and Museums and Victorian festivals...
November 2009
The trip to Milan was a big
success according to the organisers and it was great to see that nearly 300 people turned up to see my Punch and Judy
Show as a ticketed event. Always a bit of challenge when the audience don't speak the same language but the basic nonsense
of Punch doesn't really need translation. There is talk of a return visit for a street festival in May....
On the 28/29 I will be with my giant puppet Brother Sid at Ludlow Medieval Christmas Fayre
October 2009
Clive is getting ready for a trip to Milan,Italy with his puppets in November
September 2009
Clive has just returned
from a trip overseas with Mr Punch. He performed at a festival in the town of Banska Bystrica in Slovakia alongside
other well known puppeteers from across Europe. After that he visited the Ciroka Theatre company in Kecskemet, Hungary,
where he has good connections and then went down to Croatia where his giant puppets danced around in Istria. Soon he
will be performing with his street theatre act - the Rickshaw at the Skipton Puppet Festival, England. His next
overseas trip will be to a festival in Milan at the start of November.
Spring 2009
Clive Chandler is working on Dynamics 09 - the biggest puppet festival in England.
Thanks to a substantial grant of nearly £70,000 from Arts Council England to PuppetLink, it will be possible to continue
the success of the two previous festivals in 2005 and 2007 which Clive also worked on. Performances and other activities will
take place across the West Midlands in May, June and July. To visit the dynamics website click (here)
He is looking forward
to working in Spring 09 with Hanyong Theatre Company, delivering a puppet workshop programme in a Birmingham
school. This will be in association with PuppetLink and include working with Birmingham Rep.
Clive has been working with Language Alive in Birmingham to help them with the puppetry
side of their latest programme for primary schools - Into The Garden. This is currently touring schools
with great success. To visit the Language Alive website click (here)
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