Indigo Moon Theatre
Indigo Moon Theatre is best known as a Hull based Anglo-Indonesian children’s shadow puppet theatre company that has toured nationally and internationally to theatres, festivals and schools since 2001. Historically, their work combines traditions, techniques and styles from around the world, particularly from Europe and Indonesia. Their shows often carry important, transferable messages about the world around us. Merging intricate colourful design, immersive original music, engaging storytelling and a combination of marionettes, rod puppets, live acting and shadow theatre- Indigo Moon Theatre brings new life to classic tales, such as Jungle Book, Aladdin and Alice and the White Rabbit, as well as creating their own original work such as SeedHeart during the pandemic. Now their latest production in 2025 is Gaby Gulliver’s Travels. They have enjoyed hundreds of performances of their repertoire shows over the years, as well as taking commissions for commercial ventures.
You may have seen their work appear in the BBC TV programme Peaky Blinders, a Take That gig or in the latest Sir Kenneth Branagh film, A Haunting in Venice (with a spooky shadow theatre performance by IMT’s Anna Ingleby, scenery by Haviel Perdana, and characters designed by Susanna Samanek, who has designed characters for several shows now, including their latest). The company also has a long history of educational workshops for children and adults. Anna Ingleby studied puppetry in India and Indonesia and movement at the Desmond Jones school of Mime and Physical Theatre and in her early career in the early nineties worked with Jane Eve, The Puppet Theatre Barge and the Little Angel Theatre (much later, in 2019, refreshing her skills at the Curious School of Puppetry). Haviel Perdana, along with Anna, successfully created the Indigo Moon Theatre aesthetic of combining traditional puppetry styles with contemporary devising and theatre-making skills. Hand crafted sets, marionettes, rod puppets and shadow theatre are blended with acting and original music to share global stories with the audience. Haviel Perdana is an electro composer / musician, director and visual artist / painter from Indonesia, who has been working with many prestigious artists in Indonesia, (mainly in Bandung, West Java), since his early career started in the seventies. He now co-devises shows, composes the music, leads workshops, creates scenery and puppets.
Keeping Things Fresh
Messages of self-belief, kindness and togetherness underpin Indigo Moon Theatre’s work. Contemporary issues such as environmental concerns and climate change are also explored in some of their shows, and they seek to engage and inspire audiences. They have previously worked to enhance audience engagement with the support of an accessibility consultant. They offer touch tours and create safe spaces for everyone to enjoy their performances. Their new production in 2025 was partly inspired by brainstorming with local eight-year-old school children and is a contemporary adaptation of Gulliver’s Travels - with the main protagonist being eight-year old Gaby Gulliver. They hope to tour the show beyond the Autumn and into 2026.
Anna Ingleby also founded Beverley Puppet Festival in 2005, biennial since 2006, and which grew from 5 companies in one weekend to 38. She still co-directs the festival ( now under the hat of Puppets in Beverley Ltd. ( not for profit). More information here:
