Click here to find:
- Children: Gulliver's Travels Character Blogs
- Teachers: Gulliver's Travels Online Education Resources
Dragon Breath Theatre and Curve present:
Gulliver's Travels
It's 1699. Lemuel Gulliver sets sail from England for lands unknown. Shipwrecked, he finds himself to be a powerful giant in one land, a tiny plaything in another. Then, abandoned by his crew, he discovers a flying island, and a strange world where men are beasts rules by beautiful, civilised horses. Meanwhile, Gulliver's daughter Molly waits at home for his return, and to hear his extraordinary tale. But Gulliver's adventures have changed him forever... Can Molly help him truly return to the world he left behind?
Dragon Breath and Curve bring Swift's tale to life for modern audiences with their celebrated epic, visual performance style, in award-winning playwright Peter Rumney's funny and powerful play.
Creative team: Adel–Al Salloum (Director), Nettie Scriven (Designer), Sue Pyecroft (Puppetry Designer and Director), Liz Clark (Choreographer), Duncan Chave (Composer), Arnim Friess (Lighting Design) Creative Forum (Film), Gareth Chell (Production Manager), Paul Southern (Stage Manager), Moby Renshaw (DSM), Sarah Pickard (ASM).
Cast: Jim Findley, Chris Jack, Yvonna Magda, Becky Matter, Epha Roe, Katie Shirtcliffe, Emma Terrell, Jennifer Welwright.
Rehearsals Photographs by Pamela Raith
Gulliver's Travels - the show is part of an education programme exploring transition, citizenship and PHSE, including pre and post-show workshops, literacy days and online resources and has been developed in collaboration with children in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. Our collaboration with Curve has been funded by Arts Council England, Northamptonshire LEA, The Mighty Creatives, Guthlaxton College, and supported by Lakeside Arts Centre at the University of Nottingham, and Nottingham Trent University.
For more information on the Gulliver's Travels tour and education workshops at different venues, follow these links:
- Curve, Leicester 24th May – 2nd June
- Buxton Opera House 11th and 12th June
- Derby Theatre 15th and 16th June
- Corby Cube 19 – 22nd June
- Lakeside Arts Centre Nottingham 26th – 30th June 2012
Gulliver illustrations by Fiona Richardson
Dragon Breath Theatre
Dragon Breath is an independent professional theatre company that makes theatre with and for young people.
We create innovative, epic, poetic, visual theatre responding to, and challenging, young people's experiences and perceptions of the world. Our productions reflect young people's authentic voices, and are researched with children, teachers, university students, artists and scientists over many months during the development of each play.
We are a 'learning company', developing education programmes in a wide range of settings. We offer In Service Training (INSET) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for schools, artists and institutions. The Dragon Breath website is currently under development. Full archives, creative credits, logos and associated links will be posted shortly.
Photo Credits
Dragon Breath the play, Dave Dixon and Clare Harwood, and The Icarus Project, Rachel Pink, photos Robert Day
Centre, Cosmos, Polly Wiltshire, photo Debbie Whitmore
Previous work
Cosmos (with Curve Leicester May 27-30 2009)
Director: Adel Al–Salloum
Writer: Peter Rumney
Choreographer: Liz Clark
Composer: Craig Vear
Lighting: Ceri James
Projection: Ventmedia
Puppetry: Sean Myatt
Baratanatyam & Konokol Specialist: Shane Shambhu
Scenographer Supervisor: Nettie Scriven
CSM: Jo James
Performers: Dave Stickman Higgins, Jo Ashbridge, Shane Shambhu, Oksana Tyminska, Polly Wiltshire.
Designed, made, built and also performed by:
the Theatre Design Cosmos Ensemble, NTU.
Artist
Cosmos image, Lisa Kelly
Cosmos follows a child to her lost Story Star, introducing young children to concepts of the universe through human stories and magical, participatory theatre (ages 3-7).
Written by Peter Rumney and directed by Adel Al–Salloum, Cosmos was commissioned by Curve for The Spark Children's Festival 2009, International Year of Astronomy, and National Science and Engineering Week.
Cosmos was a collaboration between Dragon Breath, Curve, and Nottingham Trent University School of Art & Design. Scientific collaboration by the Centre for Effective Learning in Science (CELS) at NTU.
Cosmos was financially supported by Arts Council England; The Ignition* programme, delivered by Ignite! in collaboration with Creative Partnerships funded by EMDA; Dance 4 National Dance Agency; CELS and NTU Alumni Fund.
Cosmos was shortlisted for the Brian Way Award for Young People's Playwriting 2010, and Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Creative Business Awards 2009
Cosmos DVD Promo
Cosmos Immersive Environment 2009-11
Following the production, the Cosmos set was in residency for two years in Nottingham Bluecoat School, where a team of artists (Designer Nettie Scriven, Dancer Oksana Tyminska, Animation Artist Trevor Woolery, Writer Peter Rumney) and emerging artists worked alongside teachers, Teaching Assistants and the students to develop an interactive drama and arts environment for autistic teenagers and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties
Supporting disability awareness in theatre
Dragon Breath also supported the Whose Theatre Is It Anyway? ASSITEJ World Congress 2011 British Installation. To read the recent report on this piece of work published by TYA-UK Centre of ASSITEJ follow this link:
Photo Credits
Cosmos Lucy Hammond, Emma Greaves, Louis Wedgbury, Beth Sparrow with audience, photo Ceri James
Cosmos David Stickman Higgins and Emma Greaves with audience, photo Ceri James
Cosmos Shane Shambhu (Mars) and Polly Wiltshire (Child), photo Debbie Whitmore
Cosmos Sky Monkey (designer Lisa Kelly) with Pasha Hudson, photo Debbie Whitmore
2005-2007 The Icarus Project (by Peter Rumney and Nettie Scriven, directed by Adel Al–Salloum)
Our previous programme, The Icarus Project, raised moral & ethical issues of stem cell technologies, asking where should we draw the line in human endeavour (13-17).
The Icarus Project was short listed for the Times Higher Education / Arts Council England Award for Excellence and Innovation 2007, and the Brian Way Award for Young People's Playwriting 2008.
Academic papers and presentations of this project include: the Arts & Bioethics Network Seminar, IX World Congress of Bioethics, Croatia 2008, and the CETT Conference on Theatre Materials/Material Theatres London 2008.
For more Icarus images and background please see:
For Icarus DVD please see:
Photo Credits
The Icarus Project Minotaur, Wylie Longmore and Kelly Jago, photos by Robert Day
2005, Reaching for the Moon
(devised, directed by Peter Rumney with Sean Myatt)
Reaching for the Moon was devised immediately after the South Asian Tsunami. It explored loss and dislocation, and creativity, through object theatre and puppetry, for children aged 5-7.
Photo Credits
Reaching for the Moon photo, Arnim Friess, Pixelbox Ltd
2003-4, Dragon Breath (by Peter Rumney, directed by Rosamunde Hutt, designed by Nettie Scriven)
Dragon Breath (2004) explored anger & emotional difficulties in the aftermath of 9:11 - subverting expectations & prejudice - as a Dragon flies into the Twin Towers of a mediaeval city (6-11 year olds). (German translation Drachenwut by Anke Ehlers, Theaterstückverlag).
For more Dragon Breath the Play background please see:
"One of the most talented creative teams that we have ... innovative, exciting, often ground breaking but always educationally sound."Michaela Butter, formerly Head of External Affairs, ACE East Midlands
Photo Credits
Dragon Breath, Paul Chisholm, photo Robert Day
Dragon Breath Theatre Artistic Directors
Nettie Scriven
Nettie Scriven is a renowned theatre designer and scenographer. She specialises in creating new work for young people and developing play texts through the design process. She represented Britain at the 1999 Prague Quadrennial. Her latest designs are Gulliver's Travels (Curve Leicester and tour) and Grandpa in my Pocket (Nottingham Playhouse).
Nettie was Creative Agent for Creative Partnerships and The Mighty Creatives, developing curricula in schools, and is currently Creative Agent for the Papplewick Pumping Station research project at The University of Nottingham.
Peter Rumney
Peter Rumney is a writer, director and poet. His play Jumping on my Shadow won the Arts Council England Best Play Award 2002. Peter is currently writing a handbook for teachers on how to support literacy through kinaesthetic learning and visual art (in galleries and the classroom).
- Peter Rumney Writer profile
- Peter Rumney Writer-in-Residence Djanogly Art Gallery, Lakeside Art Centre
- Peter Rumney Academic profile
Dragon Breath Theatre Advisory Board
- Adel–Al Salloum
- Hasmita Chavda
- Heidi Gale
- Hugh James
- Eddy Kéon
- Becky Matter
- Professor Terry Shave
Contact Us
Email:Thanks
With thanks to all our artistic, science and education collaborators, students and colleagues at Nottingham Trent University, Arts Council England and, most of all, to the children we work with.
Thanks to Giselle Leeb at cielo.net for web support.