International Exchanges
Funny Wonders has an international reputation!
YAMABIKO-ZA CHILDREN’S THEATRE, JAPAN
One evening during the 2004 Buxton Puppet Festival, sitting around the supper table, Nori Sawa was talking about his home town of Sapporo and the youth theatre Yamabiko-Za and how great it would be if the kids could work together. And so it began…
From 2005, Funny Wonders developed a relationship with the Yamabiko-Za Children’s Theatre from Sapporo, Japan. We participated in three international exchanges: in 2005 and 2009, Japanese young people and associated artists travelled to Buxton to participate in the annual Buxton Puppet Festivals and in 2007, Funny Wonders went to Sapporo, Japan and performed in their theatre.
We hoped this international exchange would continue into the future but plans for a 2011 exchange were postponed following the devastating Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
The aims of the exchanges were to meet people from across the world, learn new styles of puppetry, experience and learn about different cultures, broaden the horizons of young people and foster friendships.
Buxton & Sapporo Exchanges
KATKATHA PUPPETRY TROOP, INDIA
We have also made links with Anurupa Roy and the Katkatha Puppetry Troop from Delhi, India. In 2008, the troop came over to Buxton for the Buxton Puppet Festival. They ran youth and professional workshops, performed in the Pavilion Gardens, in local schools and at the Buxton Opera House. See more about their visit on the project page here.
