Craig Leo

Craig Leo (1970- ) is a South African puppeteer, performer, designer and aerial choreographer.

Contribution to South African theatre film, media and performance

Leo learnt his trade as a circus apprentice to circus artist, puppeteer and designer, Keith Anderson, and helped Anderson to revive the Cape Performing Arts Board's Puppet Company, which had last existed in the late 1960s, and was one of the puppeteers and the company's manager from 1990 to 1996. He later founded his own acrobatic theatre company called Myth.

As a performer he has worked on productions for the National Theatre in London (e.g. War Horse), the The Zip Zap Circus (Baletsatsi), his company Myth, the Handspring Puppet Company (Tall Horse), and the Baxter Theatre (Amadeus, 2006).

As a puppeteer he has appeared in productions including: Tall Horse (Handspring Puppet Company, 2004), Il ritorno d'Ulisse (Handspring Puppet Company, 2007), War Horse (National Theatre, London, 2007/8/9), The Chimp Project (Handspring Puppet Company, 2009), House of the Dancing Water (Handspring Puppet Company, 2009), Or You Could Kiss Me (National Theatre, London, 20010/11). He was also the puppetry director of War Horse productions in Australia, Holland, the UK and Ireland (2012-2014).

As production and costume designer he has done designs for:

Jazzart Dance Theatre and Magnet Theatre: Medea (1994), Bolero, I Do x 22, Onnest'bo, Cargo (2007) and Rain in a Dead Man's Footprints (2003), The City of Paradise (2015), Partly God (2009), Retzerland Feuerigesland Cultural Festival:

Pieter Toerien: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (2005) (Fleur du Cap nomination for Best Costume Design) and

Sun City Extravaganza: Afro-Dizzia (2005).

Baxter Theatre: Cissie (2008).

Artscape Theatre: Romeo and Juliet (2009).

Wagnerian Society of South Africa: The Flying Dutchman (2010).

Madame Zingara (2007-2015).

Other productions include: London Road (2010), Love Affair (2010), Wombtide (2010), Nite Mother (2011), Benchmarks (2011), Some Like it Vrot (David Kramer, 2011), Kragbox (2011), The Flower of Shembe (2012), Voices Made Night (2012), Waiting for the Barbarians (2012), Heart of Redness (2015).

TV and film work includes being a stunt performer on The Poseidon Adventure (TV miniseries, 2005)

[TH]

Sources

Magnet Theatre's In The City of Paradise, Artslink.co.za <news0415@artslink.co.za> Thu 2015/05/14.

National Theatre [1]

IMDB [2]

War Horse programme, 2014.

Craig Leo personal resume (March 2016).

Go to ESAT Bibliography

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