Our The Silk Road project had its beginnings in the Sapporo Meets Buxton international exchange in 2007. It explored the historic trade route of silk from China to Macclesfield, a neighbouring town.
Following the trip to Japan, it was thought a good idea to work towards a production of The Silk Road for the Buxton Puppet Festival. The production was developed and a fundraising campaign begun.
The project involved over thirty young people from a range of schools, backgrounds and a mixture of ages (12-21 years) and interests, alongside a group of local artists including writers, puppeteers, dancers and musicians. Our Youth Group was involved in the script-writing, making puppets and sets, choreographing the dance sequences and directing aspects of the performance.
The production followed the journey of three young people to China and back again in 1908 at the behest of local mill owner Mr Ben Brassington. It incorporated puppeteering and acting, projection and light effects and dance and movement and was accompanied by a live musical performance by our in-house band ‘Shadowhouse’.
It was performed on 1 August 2008 on the Buxton Opera House stage in the Buxton Puppet Festival 2008.
In true Funny Wonders style, there was fun, inclusion and chaos, with the final script being written in the pub just hours before the performance!
See below photos of our development workshops in June and July at Buxton Community School and rehearsals during the festival week.
See photos of The Silk Road performance day and our other festival activities here.
The project was funded through grants from The National Lottery Awards For All scheme, Arts Council England – East Midlands Grants for the Arts, plus additional contributions from The Bingham Trust, Buxton Mayoral Charities, Buxton Round Table, and in-kind contributions from a variety of artists and the Buxton Opera House.
