Biggar Puppet Theatre

Overview

Our theatre is now in its 24th year (although the Purves Puppets Company is 40 years old) we are open throughout the year. It seats about 80 and is set in beautiful grounds, with its own puppet museum, coach car park, conservatory tearoom, and puppet shop.

You step into a magical world when you enter the auditorium. You are suddenly inside a Victorian Toy Theatre in all its "penny plain tuppence coloured" glory.

When the play begins, the audience (all ages) blow out the candle-lights and suddenly the ceiling is full of tiny stars, lighting the signs of the zodiac.

Our theatre has been filmed many times in the past for documentaries and TV programmes like Blue Peter.

We have regular tours abroad and at home, and performances for all ages. "Most recently we performed in Hong Kong with "Nessie the Loch Ness Monster" speaking fluent Cantonese!

Our regular performance timetable can be found on our website. Performances can be arranged at times to suit your group.

45 Mins from Edinburgh A702
1hr from Glasgow M74 J13 I'd like to fill in the background to our company and our theatre which is the only permanent puppet theatre in Scotland, performing throughout the year. My wife Jill and I began a full time professional company in 1970, but it wasn't until 1985 that we were able to buy premises to start our own theatre.

One day Jill took me on a mystery tour. We'd looked at a number of properties outside Edinburgh, but on this trip we went 28 miles south of Edinburgh, to the lively little town of Biggar.

We came to a big house - quite a mansion - in its own grounds and there beside the house was a Victorian coach house, solidly built with two storeys and just big enough to seat about 90. Cunning Jill new I couldn't resist it - and the beautiful countryside all around - once I saw it for myself.

To cut a long story short we bought the property, house, gardens, coach-house and all, and set about moving our family - two children, fourteen years worth of household goods and over 500 puppets plus scenery and props.

We were welcomed with open arms in Biggar, received outline planning permission right away and even had welcoming letters from neighbours, looking forward to the theatre and the visitors it would bring to the town!

Within 2 years we had the theatre up and running and have never looked back. We originally thought that it would just be seasonal but in fact, we're almost never closed! There are workshops, talks, shows and in-service courses for teachers. There's also the puppet museum and the odd T.V. programme.

We also tour to any part of the world - recent trips include Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Syria and Jordan, where we were presented to the Royal Family.


Our performances are given by large scale puppets and manipulated in Bunraku style by professional puppeteers. Productions are performed in 'Black Light', where both the puppets and scenery glow like magic, while the operators disappear among a kaleidoscope of fluorescent colours.

Although designed specifically for younger audiences, the performances are appreciated, not only by children, but adults as well.

"Adults definitely enjoy our shows. Moreover, they appreciate the amount of work and care that has been put into our performances, specifically in the costumes, scenery and script". - Ian Purves, Director.

We have played to nearly three generations. Children we originally played to return with their own children. In this way, the 'magic' that has become a part of so many people's happy childhood memories carries on, to fully establish the name 'Purves' as the Scots word for puppetry.