#puppetry

#puppetry

Every weekend, at 12:30 or 2:30 p.m., children gather on foam mats and colored blocks to watch wooden renditions of The Tortoise and the Hare, Pinocchio and Aladdin for exactly 45 minutes - the length of one side of a cassette tape. "This isn't a screen! It's for reals happenin' back there!" Alyssa Parkhurst, a 24-year-old puppeteer, says before each show. For most of the theater's patrons, this is their first experience with live entertainment.

Last year, character comedians Adam Riches and John Kearns joined forces for an archly silly tribute to crooners Michael Ball and Alfie Boe. Now Riches is back with another leftfield celebrity riff as he gives his Game of Thrones-era Sean Bean impression (as seen on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and his Edinburgh show Dungeons'n'Bastards) a yuletide twist.

Listening to Snooper, the American rock band that started up in 2020 and has since rocketed to indie rock stardom, you get the impression that the band is made up of pranksters. The genre is "egg-punk", which feels like a joke in of itself - characterised in the 2010s it's defined by a satirical tone, wry lyrics, cheapo sound and use of internet memes. But the unabashed fun of Snooper is what has garnered them such a dedicated fanbase.

For "The Cortège" approaches a difficult subject matter with an imaginative question: What if we explore grief not with isolation or solemness, but with wonder? It's a prompt that's ripe for an era of divisive politics, financial stress and often isolating technology. Beginning at twilight and extending into the evening, "The Cortège" starts with an overture, a six-piece band performing in the center of the field. We're seated either on the grass on portable pads with backs or in folding chairs on an elevated platform.

Oakland celebrates us and we celebrate Oakland. From the very beginning, Children's Fairyland has been innovative. We have this beautiful key. You put it into a storybook box and turn it, and it tells this childhood story.

The Legend of Ochi creates such a complete visual experience that studio heads should hang their heads in shame when they see it.