(photo by digitaldust)

A few weeks ago I was impressed by a number of photos at Flickr showing some fabulous big dinousaur walkabout puppets at the Paradise Gardens festival in London. This was Sau’rus, an act by the Dutch theatre group, Close-Act Street Theatre. Close-Act was formed in 1991 and ‘has since grown to a professional community of actors, musicians, stilt-walkers, dancers,
fire-throwers and acrobats’. Along with technical details and the story, they also have a cool video of the dinoaurs, which shows them as quite agile and menacing, especially with the noises they make and tails whipping around as they stalk along. Looks like they have some other cool acts in their repertoire, too.

The festival also had the pod puppet Flying Buttresses, a tiny elderly couple called Hodman Dodmanott and Sally Forth who ‘venture out in search of fame, fortune and friendship with all their possesions strapped to their backs. After living alone for hundreds of years they have lost touch with the realities of modern life.’ They look fun.

Update: Andrew at PuppetVision reports that Sau’rus is performing in Toronto in the The Celebrate Toronto Street Festival, July 8th and 9th. Maybe he will take some photos :-)? Yes, here they are! Thanks, Andrew.