Puppeteer Profile: Ivan Thorley...

Ivan is a Blind Summit Associate who has worked with us since 2011 as a puppeteer and puppet maker on shows including The Table, The Magic Flute and the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. Since working with Blind Summit Ivan has founded his own company, Puppets with Guts, and is currently touring their outdoor production Citizen Squid. 

How did you start working with Blind Summit?

I was performing with the Rainbow Collectors, a collective made up of puppeteers and circus performers, at Battersea Arts Centre in mid 2011 where Blind Summit were sharing an initial scratch of The Table. I thought it was great and plucked up the courage to go and speak with Mark Down. After a brief chat I mentioned that I liked puppetry and Mark invited me to come to a rehearsal that following Monday. 

What's your favourite memory working with Blind Summit?

Touring The Table to New York to La Mama Theatre and MOSES giving a lecture to an audience of programmers and producers on the 'state' of puppetry...


Tell us about CITIZEN SQUID

It's an interactive big puppet spectacle that was originally commissioned by the Lyric Hammersmith and Watford Palace Theatre in 2015, and further commissioned by Wandsworth Council and Enable Arts and Leisure in 2016, supported by Arts Council England. 

We have been working with young people in transition over ten weeks on Patmore Estate in Battersea through a community engagement process. Come and see it! Our performance dates are below.

What else are you up to?

As a puppeteer I am also creative producing and puppeteering a secret high profile fashion show for London Fashion Week on 12th June... look out for further details on the Puppets with Guts FB page and Twitter! 

https://www.facebook.com/PuppetsWithGuts/

https://twitter.com/puppetswithguts

You can see CITIZEN SQUID at:
- Greenwich & Docklands International Festival, 25-26 June
- Summer in Southside, Birmingham Hippodrome, 23-24 July
- Great British Carnival, Ramsgate, 28 July