Enter Edem
Enter Edem are a collective of multi-skilled artists who have come together to make family theatre and outdoor arts. Their company consists of a small team who are passionate about bringing joy and wonder to families as they tour across the UK. Led by Emma Fay, a visual artist and maker, Enter Edem embed puppetry within many of their shows and acts, bringing the interactive excitement of puppetry up close to audiences, removing the fourth wall and encouraging play, making their work accessible and inviting to all backgrounds and ages.
They officially formed as a collective in 2013, and as a grass roots company, have been entertaining audiences across a wide range of spaces, both indoors and outdoors ever since, sharing their love of puppetry and storytelling, with their ethos in the importance of community, health and play. Alongside their funded interactive shows, they have delivered small scale local family events, provide a menu of silly and spectacular walkabout and static acts, and create immersive experiences, bringing the audience into a world of playful perspectives.
Partners and commissions over the years have included local authorities and organisations to them in their home town Leicester, across the midlands and further afield, such as Applause Rural Touring, Arts By the Sea Festival, International Play Iceland and creating Amphitheatre shows at London and Whipsnade Zoo. They have used a range of puppetry throughout their work, from hand and rod, to glove puppets, parade and body puppets, created and fabricated in house by a team of artists based across the Midlands.
As an Associate Artist company to Attenborough Arts Centre, for the past decade they have created seasonal puppetry shows under the title ‘Fafunia Seasonal Stories.’ These interactive sensory shows have a built in open play aspect, encouraging children and their families to try their hand at puppetry and become part of the cast of the show themselves, immersing them in an environment of exploration and creativity.
On several occasions they have been fortunate to receive Arts Council England funding towards several productions that centre around Puppetry, such as ‘Un Dia’ in 2019, where the lead protagonist is a puppet called Phillipe, who goes on a fantastical adventure with his grandfather. Their 2018 Arts Council England supported production, ‘Tao Tales’ was a blend of circus and puppetry, which features Cambodian marionette puppets and two tabletop puppets, with built in playable Kalimbas ‘Yin and Yang.’
Over recent years they have been commissioned to create Rural Touring walkabout acts and touring shows, including their large scale body puppet, ‘The Woolly Wonder,’ a baby mammoth in need of some training, and a magical pop-up book style family puppetry show, ‘The Ugly Bugs Wingding.’ The nostalgic but vibrant unfolding set and surprising puppets hidden throughout the show make it hugely popular with all ages and it has continued to tour with Applause and appeared across the UK at the Royal Horticultural Society and Forestry England sites, Riverside Festival, the National Memorial Arboretum, Newark Book Festival, alongside Attenborough Arts Centre and featuring at local fetes and events.
“Beautifully pitched story telling and delicately crafted puppetry that transfixed a family audience of 6 -60 years.” ~ Jeremy James, Artistic Director Tramshed & Producer Greenwich Family Arts Festival
“Charming, enchanting, authentic, something you'll remember” ~ Applause promoter
"Absolutely fantastic show, I came last week and it was brilliant, so I arranged to meet some friends here today so we could all watch it together." ~ NMA audience member
For more information visit the website here. You can follow Enter Edem on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.