Revive & Thrive (2026)
Devised, designed & made - Nancy Tait and Lara Rees
Puppeteers - Nancy Tait, Lara Rees and Euan McEvoy
Supporting actors - Zach Moore and Elliot Ditton
Sound - Amelia Tory
Lighting - Charlie Ward
‘Revive and Thrive’ is a 20 minute, three person puppetry show created by Lara and me. We wanted to explore different types of puppetry and prioritise sustainability, using repurposed and recyclable materials.
Set in a dingy 70’s/80’s sitting room, you meet the main character (a lethargic middle aged man) who, after watching a sparkly yet sinister advert, buys something that promises to make everything in his life ‘revive and thrive’. Throughout the show you meet other characters like his mum and manky cat, and witness the chaos that ensues when he gets a bit too excited using his new product.
Advert
Show clip
Process
Main character
Mood board
Initial designs
Final design
Final puppet
Scale drawings
Drawing the shape of the mans body on to the foam to start carving
Carving the foam and cutting it in to sections so the puppet can bend and sit down
Smoothed out the rough carving and stuck in the joints
Sewed the hands out of calico
Stretched tights over the joints and torso so the clothes didn't get stuck
Mum
Mood board
Initial designs
Final design
Final puppet
Puppeteering design
Drawing to figure out how we would be able to swap her head with the lover during the show
Clay sculpt
Covered sculpt in worbla and smoothed it out
Covered the mums torso in jersey, ruching in specific places to look like wrinkles
Stretched tights over the joints
Started patchworking her face with fabric, paper and lace scraps and added a neck made of jersey
Covered her body in the same patchworking and painted into the face
Made her a gold sequined top and some hair out of pillow stuffing and lace
Final puppet
Lover
Showing how we switch from the mum to the lover.
Final design
Clay sculpt
Covered sculpt in worbla and smoothed it out.
Rendered by covering in scrap fabrics, paper, silver model making rocks and some paper twirls for hair.
Final puppet
Cat
Final design
Final puppet
Scale drawing
Face clay sculpt
Worbla'd the face and sewed the calico body like two bags connected by a rope for the neck.
Sewed on fur
Sewed the cat (pre-reveal) like a skin that could be taken on and off. I patchworked it like the mans face but more scraggly and dirty.