Meet Fred is a comedy theatre show involving puppetry and live performance. It centres around ‘Fred’, a two foot cloth puppet, who like all of us wants to get on in life: get a job, find a girl, settle down. However, being reliant on three puppeteers to support him wherever he goes, ‘normal’ life is hard to obtain for Fred.
Delving into some of Fred’s experiences in work, love and life, Meet Fred is about an outsider trying to make his mark in a world in which he needs a lot of help. It is full of laughs but surprisingly moving too. Click on the image below to see the trailer, you’ll see what we mean.
Directed by Hijinx Artistic Director Ben Pettitt-Wade and devised by the Company, Meet Fred has been created in association with puppetry experts Blind Summit. Based in London and renowned for their ability to bring puppets to life in a unique way, Blind Summit’s mission is to present new puppets in new places, and in new ways to new audiences.
Ben Pettitt-Wade commented: “We have had huge amounts of fun developing Meet Fred over the past two years or so, playing with the concept of how life would be for a puppet living in the everyday. It has been a fantastic process that has created a memorable character and a performance that we hope will truly touch our audiences. We are excited to finally introduce Wales to Fred.”
As with all Hijinx productions, Meet Fred is an integrated show that includes two actors with Aspergers and one with Downs syndrome, working as equals alongside four actors without learning disabilities. Richard Newnham, an actor with Aspergers and part of the Meet Fred cast said: “Being in the Meet Fred cast has been fantastic. When you work long enough you forget that Fred is a puppet. He is an actor who is always a pleasure to work with!”
Meet Fred is comedy theatre with a whole lot of heart, that will make you laugh, cry, shout and laugh again!
Touring South Wales in February/March, a full schedule for Meet Fred is available on hijinx.org.uk.