John Wright

John Wright (1906-1991) was a South African born puppeteer.

Biography

He was born in 1906 in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa. He initially tried his hand at farming before going to Cape Town to study art. In 1935 he worked his passage to England, where he became an assistant stage manager for the Ballet Rambert, and was inspired by a performance by the famous Podrecca's Piccoli marionette company.

His first performances were given in an old farmhouse in South Africa, and his travelling company gave performances across the continent before reaching England in 1946. In this period he met and married to Zoë Randall, who would direct some of his puppet shows.

He toured again in Europe and southern Africa

In 1957, while on tour in South Africa for NTO with his marionette show, he met a Pretoria art student, Lyndie, who joined his company. She went to England to study at the Central School of Art, and so did he. Settling in London in 1959, they married and set up Little Angel Theatre in an old ruined temperance hall in Islington, London, which they bought with an inheritance from his aunt, and he devoted the last 30 years of his life to the theatre.

The company's work with marionettes became world-renowned and they have represented Britain at 25 international festivals.

He also did some film and TV work in England, including puppet making and puppetry for The Forbidden Street (1949, uncredited), The Tales of Hoffmann (1951), Billy Bean and His Funny Machine (BBC, 1954) and Supersonic Saucer (Gaumont, 1956).

He appeared as himself in the TV Series documentary on John Wright Puppets (Associated-Rediffusion Television, 1962) for the series "Here and Now".

He died in March 1991.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

He performed his first full length puppet play at Stellenbosch in 1941 and toured South Africa in 1943 and 1946, and again in 1955 and 1957 for the National Theatre Organisation (NTO) with his company, John Wright's Marionettes.

His repertoire included Die Klein Meerminnetjie / The Little Mermaid, Mak die Skaapdief / Mak the Sheepstealer (the 14th century miracle play) and a variety program with mr. Bumble as the announcer.

During the 1957 tour the company included Jane Tyson from England, Margaret Marshall, Timothy Heale as stage manager, Aiden Higgins, Jill Aanders, and Johan van Vreden who did most of the Afrikaans voices

Awards, etc

John Wright was awarded the MBE by Her Majesty the Queen.

Sources

Lantern, 7(1), 1957.

Vertolkende Kunste, HSRC, 1972.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0942511/

The family that pulls strings , The Guardian, 12 March 2011[1]

"Little Angel Theatre, Dagmar Passage, N1: in honour of founder John Wright" Islington Newsletter[2]

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