New Stuff coming your way…

Whilst audiences up and down the country watch The Gingerbread Man digitally, at S&N headquarters in Dorset we’ve been busy creating our biggest, most ambitious show to date – a stunning new adaptation of Pinocchio. We hope to premiere later this year, and tour it throughout 2022. So, as the UK’s roadmap out of lockdown picks up pace what better time to share with you our plans and progress to date.

What do you think of when you hear the name Pinocchio? A cute wooden puppet? A tell-tale growing nose? Treasured memories of sharing stories with your family? Our new adaptation of this classic tale will have all this and SO much more!

“Take a child (by which I mean anyone from 3 to 103) to a show by Stuff and Nonsense. Watch how, within a minute or two their smile begins to widen, their mind starts to expand – then notice their expressions of delight and wonder… Stuff and Nonsense make the world a better place.”
Chris Chibnall – Writer of Broadchurch, Dr Who and Torchwood

Last year saw us start to work on this exciting new project. As always, the team began by working with children and young people to unpick the themes of this timeless story, following where the childrens’ fascinations and playfulness led them.

At its core, Pinocchio is the story of a father and son. Pinocchio is always learning, trying to find ways through tricky situations without many people to guide him. It’s a story of survival in a surreal world. Our highly physical and extraordinary adaptation is another unique and playful take on a classic story that we think we know.

Our three actors are different ages, representing father, son and grandfather. They find themselves in an abandoned old house, full of faded grandeur and exciting riches to discover. The show centres around a large dining table, the heart of family life, used as the performers’ playground. A grand staging is crammed with visual surprises, all sorts of hidden drawers and compartments providing unexpected opportunities for puppets to pop out and the actors to jump, flip and spin on and over.

Artistic Director Niki McCretton has brought together an impressive team of creatives, including three world-class Performers (all musical and skilled in physical comedy, acrobatics and puppetry), Designer Edwina Bridgeman (Travelling Light), Puppet and prop designer Holly Miller (Stuff and Nonsense), Composer Dom Coyote (Kneehigh) and Mentor Paul Hunter (Told By An Idiot).

Pinocchio is a co production with Theatre Royal Plymouth, supported by The Lighthouse, Poole, The Point, Eastleigh and The Lyric, Bridport. The work so far has been made possible with public funding from Arts Council England.

We hope these snaps taken during the devising process help to whet your appetite.
Keep your nose close to the ground and await further updates!…

Rehearsal photos taken at The Lyric, Bridport by Holly Miller.