Horse + Bamboo was formed in 1978 by a small group of artists, musicians and performers led by Bob Frith.
Below is the beginnings of our online archive – a record of Horse + Bamboo’s previous shows and spectacles. Follow along on our social media channels as we continue the process of uncovering and cataloguing more of this fascinating collection.
If you are interested in viewing Horse + Bamboo’s eclectic archive in person, we hold regular tours of the archive on open days, or can arrange private tours with school groups and individuals. Please email : info@horseandbamboo.org
If you want to read more stories about previous shows & the company’s history, information is also available on founder, Bob Frith’s website, here.
2015 Hansel & Gretel
A show which went through a number of transformations was Alison Duddle's Hansel & Gretel. Another small-scale tour with, eventually, just 2 performers, which nevertheless was a popular Christmas show for younger audiences.
For more information contact Alison Duddle, alisonduddle@hotmail.com
2013 Angus - Weaver of Grass
The production was enhanced by the use of Gaelic song throughout, and singers Mairi Morrison (2013) and MJ Deans (2014) led the singing. They were joined by Mark Whitaker, Jonny Quick and Jordanna O'Neill. Angus's amazing costumes were researched and made by Joanne B Kaar, of Dunnet in Caithness.
2013 Angus - Weaver of Grass
Angus - Weaver of Grass was written and directed by Bob Frith. The show toured largely (and memorably) in Scotland, especially to the Outer Islands. Angus McPhee has been from a Gaelic-speaking family and the songs and any language used in the production was Gaelic. The show was enormously successful and toured a second year, again largely in Scotland. On Uist, members of Angus McPhee's family visited us in Eochdar to see the production.
2013 Angus - Weaver of Grass
Angus - Weaver of Grass, was the true story of Angus McPhee, of South Uist. A young crofter who went off to war and ended up an elective mute. He spent 50 years in the mental health facility at Craig Dunain near Inverness, and whilst there started the process of weaving fantastic clothes from the grasses and plants that grew in the hospital grounds. Angus is now recognised as an important Outsider Artist in his own right.
2013 Moominland Midwinter
The Moomin story, of course, was from derived the popular children's books by Tove Jansson, and licensed by the Tove Jansson Foundation. Music was again by Loz Kaye and the show ran for two long Christmas seasons; first at the egg and in 2014 at the Waterside in Sale.
2013 Moominland Midwinter
Moominland Midwinter was a first for the company. A co-production with Bath's the egg, and with a script by Hattie Naylor and a set designed by Thomas Warburton. The show was co-directed with the egg; Alison sharing direction of the show with Lee Lyford.
2011 Red Riding Hood
Red Riding Hood was one of the first H+B shows toured as a two-hander, where we used film to extend and develop the narrative. Music by Loz Kaye.
For more information contact Alison Duddle, alisonduddle@hotmail.com
2011 Red Riding Hood
A show written and directed by Alison Duddle and designed by Bob Frith which grew and developed over the years, becoming a very popular touring show for younger audiences.
2009 Deep Time Cabaret
Developed by Bob as part of ‘Valley of Stone’, a Heritage Lottery funded project to celebrate the geology and quarrying history of Rossendale. This unlikely starting point resulted in a wildly experimental show that opened deep underground in caves in the Forest of Dean.
2009 Deep Time Cabaret
Deep Time Cabaret used film and song in new ways for the company, with notable short animations by Steff Lee. The set was a skeletal frame and lighting partly consisted of wind-up lamps. It was a great hit at the Suspense Festival in London.
2008 Veil
Veil was an ambitious project that explored the historical relationship between Europe and the Middle East. Its multi-layered story followed the life of an archaeologist at the beginning of the 20th century; and two contemporary young women – one Iranian, one European.
2008 Veil
The story was developed by Bob with help a group of women from Muslim backgrounds, and their own stories helped flesh out the lives of the female characters in the play. Loz Kaye’s music drew from Middle-eastern sources, and he sampled spoken Persian for the sound-track.
2008 Veil
Alison Duddle made many of the exceptional masks for this show, and Erik Knudsen helped Bob with the film sections. Photographs of Veil by Ian Tilton.
2007 Storm in a Teacup
This developed out of a short show made for the pPod. The story of a lonely Lighthouse-keeper and his friendship with a relief sailor grew from a 20 minute into a 50 minute family show, and has toured on and off for several years with performers Jonny Quick and Mark Whitaker.
For more information contact Alison Duddle, alisonduddle@hotmail.com
2006 Little Leap Forward
This show, adapted and directed by Alison Duddle from an autobiographical book by Guo Yue, and designed by Bob Frith. Set during the Cultural revolution in Mao’s China, it was a powerful show about the ability of art (in this case Yue’s flute-playing) to transcend horror.
2006 Little Leap Forward
We worked closely with Guo Yue and his wife, Clare Farrow, in adapting his novel, and Yue recorded the flute parts of Loz Kaye’s music for the show.
2006 In the Shadow of Trees
Bob Frith wrote and designed this show which was directed by Alison Duddle. A fairy-tale story about a feral child, it won awards as the Best New Play at the MEN Theatre Awards, and went on to tour for several years, with the designs featured in an exhibition at the V&A Museum.
2006 In the Shadow of Trees
The set from In The Shadow of Trees was built on a shoe-string for a residency at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. With the success of the show and the demand to tour, it became increasingly difficult to adapt the set to touring schedules, which demand quick get-ins and get-outs.
2006 Guided Imagery
Guided Imagery was given a new lease of life when we moved into the Boo in 1996 as the large space allowed us to build bigger environments. During this period we built, among others, a Menagerie (pictured), a Deep-Sea Trawler, and a Fish and Chip Shop!
2005 The pPod
The pPod was an architect-designed portable theatre space developed by the company for showing small puppet productions to audiences of between 30 and 35. It toured for three years, and popped up in unlikely venues such as Agricultural Shows as well as arts festivals.
2002 Company of Angels
This show was co-written and directed by Bob and Alison. Based on the life of the painter Charlotte Salomon who died in Auschwitz in 1943, it used her own extraordinary ‘Life or Theatre?’ cycle of gouaches as inspiration.
2002 Company of Angels
Bob Frith had seen the Royal Academy exhibition of Charlotte Salomon’s epic work ‘Life or Theatre?’ and immediately felt that it would form the starting point for a Horse + Bamboo show. ‘Company of Angels’ was the result, and it toured throughout the UK, Europe and the USA.
2000 The Girl Who Cut Flowers
A publicity shot of the Goat character, who harasses the eponymous Girl. Photograph taken in the woodland at the back of our workshop in Waterfoot.
2000 The Girl Who Cut Flowers
This show was the first in which Alison Duddle took a leading role, working alongside Bob Frith to create a show about a young girl passing through puberty. The show toured for two years.
2000 The Girl Who Cut Flowers
A particularly sinister life-size Punch and Judy featured as characters in the show.
2000 Guided Imagery
Another Guided Imagery project for people with learning disabilities centred around building a life-size fairground at the Boo, complete with Ferris Wheel, Ghost Train, Roundabouts – and Hook a Duck stall.
1999 Irwell Day Parade
Horse + Bamboo have always worked on projects centred in our home community of Rossendale. In the 1990s many of these centred around ‘Irwell Day’ which celebrated the River Irwell that runs through the Valley.
1999 Harvest of Ghosts
A show undertaken in collaboration with the Nigerian author and academic, Sam Ukala. Based around the story of Ken Saro-Wiwa and oil exploitation in the Delta State, and a return by H+B to performing outdoors. The picture is of the king- the Oba.
1999 Harvest of Ghosts
Yusupha M’boob is a great drummer who was an important part of the ‘Harvest of Ghosts’ show.
1999 Harvest of Ghosts
‘Boma’, wife of ‘Kika’ in our story; Kika being based on Ken Saro-Wiwa (an acquaintance of Sam Ukala, who co-wrote the play with Bob Frith). Boma was played by Funmi ‘Odewale, who taught us masquerade dancing.
1998 The Legend of the Creaking Floorboard
A bizarre story about two sisters and a mysterious Knife-grinder, and their journey under the floorboards. Written and directed by Bob Frith, and performed mainly by performers using ‘high-head’ masks.
1998 The Creaking Floorboard Band
Horse-drawn tours continued to offer walk-about performances to attract audiences to our shows. Taken on the ‘Creaking Floorboard’ tour the band included our two music directors Loz Kaye and Chris Davies.
1998 Beyond The Boundary
Lancashire League cricket was celebrated in CLR James ‘Beyond a Boundary’, and James’ own story, which combined his love for cricket with an unexpected link with East Lancashire and his involvement with colonial independence was celebrated by H+B in this show and an exhibition.
1996 Visions of Hildegard
Written and directed by Bob Frith, ‘Visions’ was about Hildegard of Bingen, the medieval abbess, composer and mystic.
1994 Dance of White Darkness
This show was set in Haiti and was based on ‘The Voodoo Gods’ by Maya Deren. These four characters are the hapless ‘tourists’ from the show.
1994 Caithness
1994 Caithness
On the road near Dunnet Head in Caithness, Scotland. Part of the ‘Dance of White Darkness’ tour, bringing voodoo to the Highlands!
1994 and 1996 Westminster Good Friday
We were asked by the Chapter of Westminster Abbey to create a Good Friday parade that processed from Westminster Central Hall to the Abbey via Westminster Cathedral. The events ended with a service/performance by the company in the Abbey. Another such event followed two years later.
1994 – Maya Deren from Dance of White Darkness
Maya Deren was an American experimental film-maker who visited Haiti in the 1940s to film vaudoun dance and ended by becoming a Vaudoun priestess. Her story formed the basis for the show.
1993 On the road in Hungary
Horse-drawn touring was an amazing way of attracting audiences wherever we went. The turn-out on the road was a kind of travelling advertisement. Of course everything was planned way in advance, right down to lunch-time stop-overs.
1993 Musicians in Hungary
Mary Keith, Jo King and Stu Barker from the ‘Strange & Unexpected Event’ tour of Hungary. Stu now works as Music Director for Kneehigh Theatre.
1993 Hungary
We toured Hungary twice – in 1990 and 1993. The first time walking from the Ukraine border to western Hungary; the second Slovakia and the then war-zone on the Croatian borders, working with, among others, young refugees from the war and Roma communities. Not surprisingly, these were memorable tours.
1992 Poster
From our beginnings we have frequently used woodcut or linocut images for our publicity posters. These tend to be made by Bob, as here, although Alison has developed a paper-cut technique which continues this tradition.
1992 A Strange & Unexpected Event! – the Devil
This show, written and directed by Bob Frith, was the story of the Mexican printmaker, Jose Guadalupe Posada, and set during the Day of the Dead – much of it being a kind of slap-stick duel between Posada and the Devil. This popular show was revived the next year, and again in 2004/5.
1991 The Flood
A poetic show inspired by images of The Flood. The Carpenter sets out on a mission to rescue the world after being warned by a sinister delegation.
1990s Guided Imagery
Our Guided Imagery work continued and developed through the 90s. These projects with people who have learning difficulties grew in scale and ambition. In this photograph a girl is helped to escape down an underground tunnel.
1990 The Wish
An Indian story retold by Bob Frith, about a stranger who comes to town, appears to offer great benefits to the community, but eventually gets to hold everyone hostage. The mysterious stranger was memorably played by Jo King, a regular member of the company during this period.
1989 The Plaited Path
A version of ‘Rapunzel’, and a very popular tour. Pictured is Anne Barber – a long-standing member of the company who is now, with Brad Harley, artistic director of ‘Shadowland Theatre’ of Toronto.
1989 The Plaited Path
Another image from our version of ‘Rapunzel’. Here Rapunzel has shaved her hair and meets the ‘Prince’ who has saved her but been blinded by the Witch in the process.
1988 The Wheel
A group of ‘villagers’, represented by masks representing houses. The story by Bob Frith followed the adventures of an innocent couple delivering a mysterious wheel to a far location, only to discover its grisly purpose.
1986 Tales from a Maskshop
A dark and apocalyptic journey written by Bob Frith based on the ‘The Journal of Albion Moonlight’ by the American poet Kenneth Patchen.
1984 Seol – travelling on Barra
‘The Guardian’ flew a reporter, Robin Thornber, and the photographer Dennis Thorpe out to the Hebrides to meet us on tour. The photographs that Dennis took were a wonderful record of a special tour and they formed a photo-feature in the paper.
1984 Seol
Seol, touring from Vatersay in the south to Harris in the north of the Outer islands became one of the most memorable tours undertaken by the company.
1984 Seol
In 1983 H+B were asked to write a show for a tour of the Outer Hebrides. On reconnaissance for a horse-drawn tour of 9 islands Bob Frith met Fr. Colin MacInnes on Barra and became aware of the developing movement to recognise the still-marginalised Gaelic language and culture.
1983 Needles in a Candleflame
A feature of horse-drawn touring was that each show had a number of improvised ‘walkabouts’, in which performers or musicians or both went out into the local community to advertise the show. Here Adam Strickson, in mask, takes his puppet dog for a walk around the East Neuk harbour.
1982 The Woodcarver Story
The story of Harry Macdonald, the Woodcarver of Woolmer Green, who Bob Frith knew and met during his childhood. The horse-drawn tour started in Lancashire and finished in Woolmer Green itself, near Welwyn in Hertfordshire.
1982 The Whitworth Fire Horse
The early company worked in many different ways – touring, street shows, fire theatre, and so on. We met many travellers, drawn to us by their love of horses. In 1982 we created this centre piece for the travellers Horse Fair near Rochdale. At its culmination this wooden horse was set alight.
1982 Guided Imagery
In 1982 we worked in a Special School and devised an ambitious way of working with people who had special needs. We called this ‘Guided Imagery’ involving large-scale theatre environments and what is now known as Immersive Theatre. This photograph would have been taken in the mid-1980s.
1981 The Smoke Show
A small-scale outdoor show. In the photograph (from left) Gill Pearson, Bob Frith, Fiona Frank.
1981 Old Mary from ‘Angel Mummers’
A winter tour of a version of a mummers play. The tour included a residency in a refugee camp working with ethnic Chinese ‘boat-people’ in a bitterly cold and snowy winter. Two of the performers were Sue Auty and Edward Taylor, who soon after formed the excellent Whalley Range All-Stars.
1980 The Home-made Circus
A highly anarchic show loosely based on the writings of the American Gary Snyder. The show took place in a tented, walled arena open to the sky, and featured members of the Dutch company Matrogoth.
1979 Pictures From Brueghel
A ‘walkabout’ from the company’s first (horse-drawn) tour. Played in the various landscapes that we arrived at, the show described an imaginary journey through the life of the Flemish painter Pieter Brueghel.
1978 Ellen Strange
The first ever Horse + Bamboo events were about a local story of a young woman murdered on the moors above Helmshore. The main event was the unveiling of a carved stone 1000-feet above the Rossendale Valley. The stone is still in its place – now a well-known landmark.