Army of animals assembles for spectacular theatre production

Its latest production, The Song of Leviathan, features live music, a cast of community performers and a whole host of giant puppets to bring an epic story of love, betrayal and adventure to life.

The puppets, ranging from illuminated fish to the giant Hanuman, the Monkey King, will be seen in a series of events during Coastival, which takes place on the weekend of February 12-13. It will culminate in performances in the spectacular Spa Sun Court at 6.30pm on the Friday and 6pm on the Saturday and a procession along the South Bay at 1.30pm on the Saturday.

Animated Objects artistic director Lee Threadgold says: “It’s a bit like putting on a production of The Lion King – but with four times the cast and only a fraction of the budget.”

Lee and creative director Dawn Dyson-Threadgold have visited 13 primary and infants schools across the county, including several in Scarborough, to work with pupils who operated the shadow puppets and provided narration, recording over three hours of performance which were then edited down to a 15-minute film. Animated Objects will also be running a series of Makers and Sewing Bees at The Stephen Joseph Theatre and at Scarborough Central Library for those who would like to get involved in making costumes, puppets or props for the performances. They have scheduled more for this year at different times of day.

Tickets for the performances of The Song of Leviathan are free, but spaces are limited. Visit www.coastival.com to book.

The company also wants volunteers to help as stewards. To volunteer or to get involved at the Makers and Sewing Bees, visit www.thesongofleviathan.com or contact Lee or Dawn via [email protected] or on (01723) 378906 .