Now Touring
(Only available for special engagements, please email me for further details)
An old toymaker lives in a strange world of string and brown paper. All day he goes about his business doing the same things over and over, but when he’s not looking the real adventure begins as his toys lead a secret life of their own.
Inspired by the classic folk tale of “Jack and the Beanstalk” The Boy, The Bean and The Very Tall Plant is a magical story with minimal language, using miniature illusion and skillful puppetry to create a gentle tale of a small persons adventure in an oversized world.
Recent Credits
Artistic Director - International Puppet Festival Ireland - Present
Artistic Director - South Tipperary Arts Centre - 2007
Creator/Performer - “The Boy, The Bean & The Very Tall Plant” Touring Production - 2007 to Present
Writer/ Designer/ Performer - “Puppeteer” The Ark & Tour 2006
Designer/ Maker - “Automatic Theatre of Heron of Alexandria” Co-Commission - 2006
Artist/Consultant - Fatima Mansions - 2006
Festival Curator - Dublin Theatre Festival Children’s Season - 2004 & 2005
Theatre Development Officer/ Producer - The Ark - 2002 - 2005
Puppet Designer - “Hurl” - Barabbas - GAF & DTF - 2003
Director/Designer - “Bloomsday Challenge” The Ark/ ReJoyce Festival - 2004
Concept & Initial Development - “The Day I Swapped my Dad for 2 Goldfish” - 2002
Producer, Concept & Co-Director - “Living Doll” The Ark - 2002-2003
Galleries
Puppeteer 2006
“The whole world is but a series of miracles, but we are so accustomed to them that we call them everyday matters.”
The Puppet Show Man – HC Andersen
A Puppeteers hand develops a life of it’s own and sets off on a journey of learning and evolution. From a naive creature exploring his world he learns and develops with every challenge he faces, leaving the poor puppeteer to fend for himself, while trying not loose his head!
Taking it’s inspiration from HC Andersen’s short story “The Puppet Show Man” and the autobiographical nature of Andersen’s children’s stories, “Puppeteer” was a non verbal fusion of object and physical theatre which explored how we learn and grow, the challenges we face and the journeys we take in life.
In the same vein as many of Andersen’s works the performance was about the beauty and magic in every day things and the life and emotions these objects would have if they came to life while we are not looking. Presented like a game of objects the performance paid homage to many of the great modern puppeteers.
Puppeteer was an experimental children’s theatre work created by Ronan Tully & Christian Suchy in 2006.
This project was made possible through Arts Council Projects funding and with the support of the Austrian Government.
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Automatic Theatre of Heron of Alexandria 2006
Created by Ronan Tully & Mick Kelly
A replica of one of the first known puppet/robots designed by Heron of Alexandria (10-70AD) comissioned by The Ark, Dublin as part of it’s “Save The Robots” exhibition 2006.
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The Bloomsday Challenge 2004 (click to play video)
iPod version (25.9 MB)
An interactive theatre performance to introduce children to James Joyce’s Ulysses. Created as part of Rejoyce Festival to celebrate Bloomsdays 100th birthday.
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Living Doll 2003 (click to play video)
iPod version (29.8 MB)
A spectacular interactive theatrical journey through the history of international puppetry traditions.
Spanning all five floors of The Ark – Living doll was a world-class visual arts exhibition integrated with an exciting and entertaining performance experience that was designed to introduce children to the history and styles of puppetry from around the globe.
From Mr. Punch’s Europe and the ancient Bunraku of Japan to the futuristic puppets from film and television, children were introduced to this prolific art form as they travel through the world of puppetry and see it come to life before their eyes
As the audience passed through each space, in intimate groups, they travelled geographically, stylistically and historically through the magical world of puppetry.
The exhibition culminated with a hands-on workshop where children will worked with a team of professional puppeteers learning the art of puppetry.
Institutions that participated in Living Doll included:
- The State Academic Central Puppet Theatre of S.V. Obraztsov in Moscow
- The Marionette Museum Stockholm
- The Children’s Museum Chrudim Czech Republic
- International Museum of Marionettes Antonio Pasqualino in Sicily
- Theatre Institute of the Netherlands
- The Puppet Centre Trust of Great Britain
