Moomins And Mischief At This Summer’s Beverley Puppet Festival

Following the acclaimed exhibition of author and artist Tove Jansson and her tales of Moominvalley at the Dulwich Picture Gallery earlier this year, 2018 sees more Moomin mischief as Beverley Puppet Festival.

Beverley Puppet Festival has announced a puppet version of this much loved fictional family over the festival weekend on Sunday 15th July. Created by the Finnish author in the 1940s, these internationally adored curious creatures are currently undergoing a renaissance with a new animated television series also in the pipeline for 2019.

Produced and performed by Brighton based puppet company, Get Lost & Found, Mischief and Mystery in Moominvalley was commissioned by the Tove Jansson literary estate and Moomin Characters as a new theatrical experience for children, in consultation with Sophia Jansson, Tove’s niece. It is currently the only authorised Moomin puppet show, having originally been created for the Southbank’s Nordic Matters festival.

Kerrin Tatman, Co-Artistic Director of Beverley Puppet Festival, said:

“We are very excited to welcome Moomins to the festival for the first time. 2018 is the 70th anniversary of the publication of Tove Jansson’s third Moomin book Finn Family Moomintroll and the stories continue to endure across old and new generations. The books themselves are quite philosophical and I think they resonate with children and adults alike because so much of their subject matter chimes in with everyday family life.”

Mischief and Mystery in Moominvalley echoes the books’ themes; the love of nature, the value of friendship, the pain of separation and the acceptance of difference. The show features a pop-up book set, original music and interactive play for younger audiences to encourage them to immerse themselves in participatory story-telling.

Sophia Jansson, Creative Director at Moomin Characters, said:

“Mischief and Mystery in Moominvalley is an engaging and hugely entertaining show that brilliantly embodies themes from Tove’s original stories such as love, family, respect and fun – universal values that are more important today than ever before. I am so excited that the show will be performed at the Beverley Puppet Festival this year and will bring these essential values to an even wider audience.”

Kerrin continues:

“Well known fictional characters and literary connections can be found right across this year’s family shows, One Moment in Time’s A Necklace of Raindrops is based on Joan Aiken’s modern fairy tales, Rattlebox Theatre is performing Beowulf, Little Fawn Caravan returns with a new show The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Barm Pot Theatre’s Penguinpig is based on the best-selling picture book by Stuart Spendlow and illustrator Amy Bradley, and Indigo Moon Theatre is performing Mermarella, inspired by Cinderella.”

This year’s festival takes place from 13th – 15th July, with performances from over 30 professional puppet companies. Anyone wishing to sign up for regular updates can check the festival website www.beverleypuppetfestival.com