Drew Colby is coming back to Dulwich Picture Gallery with his special hand show which has entranced young and old each Christmas at the gallery.
Thus year he will present The Ugly Duckling, the well-known tale by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It is all about a little duckling trying to figure out who he is. He is born into a nest of ducks and realises that he is different, bigger to start with, but at least he can swim.
This little duckling meets many animals during the show and the children will have great fun in recognising them and even be taught how to make some of them by using their hands – and shadows and light. This show has been created by Drew Colby together with Penny Callow, who is a musician. Penny plays the cello and the music is chosen to illustrate the tale of the ugly duckling who turns into a beautiful swan. There will be music from Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake and also the swan from The Carnival of the Animals by the French composer Saint-Saens.
The cello is a very versatile instrument and she manages to conjure up many different sounds from the animal world, which gives a special dimension to the shadow theatre. Penny began playing the cello when she was nine years old – and she still has that youthful enthusiasm for her chosen instrument. Since the age of thirteen she has known she wanted to make music her career.
Drew Colby is well known to the young – and the young at heart. He started performing with puppets at the young age of five –his first puppet show was hansel and Gretel. He did not have enough puppets so he raided his toy box. This creative attitude is still Drew’s forte. He uses everyday objects to create a world of wonder. Most essential tool, though, are his hands.
Hand shadow puppetry may be the oldest form of puppetry and it is a lot of fun because anyone can start without having to buy expensive equipment. All you need is light, a wall and some imagination to turn your hand into animals or people. Drew tours around the world with his shows and puppetry is a much appreciated art form in Europe.
Christmas Special Puppet Show
Sunday 29 November
10.15am and 1.30pm, Linbury Room
Dulwich Picture Gallery
£5 per person, babies under 10 months FREE
Fruit for the children in the interval
Tickets for these events can be purchased:
Online at dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
Or through Friends on 020 8299 8750
Or from Friends Desk in the Gallery
These events are organised by Friends of Dulwich Picture Gallery
