A monkey puppet made by the team behind War Horse is coming to Preston.

The Hartlepool Monkey is the tale of a monkey who was hanged as a French spy in a puppetry tale exploring xenophobia.

Based on a 200-year legend the monkey is ship wrecked off the North East coast with a cabin girl.

Terrified of a French invasion and unfamiliar of what a Frenchman should look like the locals put the monkey on trial as a spy.

Written by Carl Gorse and created by Carl, Finn Caldwell and Toby Olie.

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Olie and Caldwell met on War Horse and went on to become associate puppetry directors of the show.

The pair said: “We’re very excited to be bringing this story to audiences of all ages, all over the UK. Initially attracted to the tale of The Hartlepool Monkey as it placed an animal at the centre of the narrative, we’ve since become excited about the myth from 19 th Century being able to connect to the world
today.

“In particular recent issues of insularity, xenophobia and inclusion. Our chimp we’ve created promises to be a striking new style of puppet for us and we’re assembling a multi-talented cast to bring this playful, anarchic and touching tale to life.”

The show is taking place on Saturday 7 October at the Media Factory in Kirkham Street on the University of Central Lancashire.

It’s 1 hour and 20 minutes at Derelict Theatre’s venue Theatre 1. The show is suitable for ages 10+ and there’s a matinee performance at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.

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Tickets are £10 for adults, £7 concessions, £5 under-16s. A family ticket is £20. You can buy tickets from the Derelict website.

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