"When the long winter nights come on and the wolves follow their meat into the lower valleys, he may be seen running at the head of the pack through the pale moonlight or glimmering borealis, leaping gigantic above his fellows, his great throat a-bellow as he sings a song of the younger world, which is the song of the pack."

-Jack London

From all here at The Call of the Wild,

THANK YOU

for joining us on this journey... 

If you have any feedback about the show, do email
blindsummitoffice@googlemail.com

The Company

Actors
Buck: Ashleigh Cheadle
Buck: Jack Parker
Buck: Meghan Treadway
Spitz: Maisie Turpie
Ysabel/Judge Miller/Billie: Meilir Rhys Williams
John Thornton/Servant: Fernando Gordon
Man in Red Sweater/Sol-leks/Timber Wolf: Lauren Little
Manuel/Moose/Timber Wolf: Sophie Wyburn

Puppeteers
Toots/Timber Wolf: Matt Hutchinson
Rabbit/Dave: Charlotte Quartermaine

Production Team
Costume and Associate Set Designer: Faye Brinkworth
Associate Puppet Designer: Caroline Bowman
Lighting Designer: Leo Flint
Sound Designer/Production Sound: Janek Pearce
Production Manager: Stephen Evans
Assistant Production Manager: Claire Waddington
Stage Manager: Christopher Stone
Deputy Stage Manager: Nikita Wolski
Technical Manager: Michelle-Sophie Van-den-Bergh
Technical Manager: Paul Panayi
Chief Electrician/Programmer: Lewis Smith
Electrician: Jamie Redford
Puppet Constructor: Sara Clark
Puppet Constructor: Joanna Hruby
Puppet Constructor: Irena Stratieva
Puppet Constructor: Isabel Lyster
Puppet Constructor: Gareth Martin
Puppet Constructor: Jodie Gardner
HOD Scenic Art: Louisa Mozzilli
Scenic Artist: Heather Dolan
Scenic Artist: Lucy Schmidt
Set Constuctor: Rory Evans
Creative Assistant: Sian Ross
Documenter/Photographer: Jemima Yong

Collaborator/Documenter: Catherine Alexander
supported by the Centre of Excellence in Training for Theatre
Costume Supervisor: Karin Schuck
TSD Workshop: Alex Turnpenny and Stephen Heath

Blind Summit Theatre
Director: Mark Down
Set and Puppet Designer: Nick Barnes
General Manager: Helen Hodge
Producing Assistant: Lorraine Wood

Dog Days are Over

Buck is checked one last time by Caroline before Nikita takes him backstage for his final performance.

Image by Tony Simpson

Thank you for the awesome feedback and encouragement you've given us!

"Really elegant, it was like reading a storybook"

"Unmissable!"

"I want to thank you today. You've given a great gift to me. A story well told!"

"The puppets were brilliant!"

"What a brilliant, choreographed and poignant show."

Image by Tony Simpson

Image by Tony Simpson

Backstage, the actors are all pumped and ready to go! Though tonight, they're especially nervous. Cards and well wishes fill the room as they get ready for the last performance and write a few thank you notes to Blind Summit and the puppet makers who've made this production the wonder that it is....

Tonight! Tonight!

The 24th of Febuary, opening night. We've been working non-stop. Just finished our dress rehearsal and we're still editing, making it better. Here's a little visual taster of the show and what goes on behind the scenes!

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Our BBC Debut!

Hello!

The feature on Blind Summit is on the BBC today. Here is a link to the website….I think the 6.30pm news will be a lot longer.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/hi/tv_and_radio/ (8.54 minutes in)

Click ‘Watch Now’ BBC London News on the right hand side.

The company watching the live broadcast of the 6.30pm news during our dinner break!

The Day Before....

Some new paint designs for the puppets are tested out in the afternoon run.

Here we are, one day to our opening night. Things are still changing - things will always be changing. That's the best thing about this process. The morning run allowed us all to appreciate what we've acheived, try things out (the new paint effect) and find the gaps we need to work on.

It looks like we will be simplifying things from here. There were too many styles at once, we need "something simplier, more puppety", we need the same language all the way through - really focusing the narrative from Buck's point of view.

The BBC came back again to film a bit of the dress to air this afternoon on London News. Time has flown by since they last visited, but now we've got a show. "We're working hard and fast, but we're in a good place".

Technicals - Day 1

We start working in a new space today, the team have very briskly adjusted to the intimate black box and are working on tightening up movement 3.

Mark has a go at working with the sledge, crafting the language of the production to make the story more coherent. Slowly but surely, the piece is meeting its potential...

After Hours: The BIG Move

Last night, the entire company packed up our bags and left our rehearsal space in the church for our performance space - The Webber Douglas Studio!

As London Fashion Week approaches, Nick started getting ready for his debut...

Armed with 1 supermarket trolley and lots of muscle, the company moved out all the stuff we'd accumulated over the nesting period....

A sneaky peek at our stage designed by Faye Brinkworth!

Our finished programme!

The company with Catherine Alexander perusing our brand new programme designed by stage manager Chris Stone!

Almost there...

Our first run through of the 4 movements happens today!

Hello Week 4!

We did a run through of the first three movements today and started devising the fourth.

Where we're at...

Today we worked on the sledge scene!

The BBC come to visit!

The lovely Brenda Emmanus and David Perella from BBC London News' Arts and Entertainment department join us on site for an interview with Blind Summit for a feature that will be aired on

BBC 1's London News at 1.30pm and 6.30pm on the 23rd of Febuary (Tuesday).

This is still tentative.... so WATCH THIS SPACE FOR CONFIRMATION!

The process so far...

The company is on the third week of rehearsals and look how far we've come! Here's a visual retrospective of the process from rehearsal day 1....

Week 3

Our production team!

Week 2

Week 1

The makers set up their workshop in the rehearsal space.

The actors get started!