Over The Top Puppet Company

Willie is an outrageous but loveable rogue, whose interests include food, motorbikes and rock'n'roll. He plans to eat Granny and Red Riding Hood but fails miserably because of his unreliable motorbike. Luckily Granny is a good mechanic. Unluckily she is not a good driver...how will it end? Happily of course, if the audience helps!

Over a 35year career as a puppeteer Mike Hares has written, performed and directed many shows all over the UK and Europe. Willie the Wicked Wolf is the show that has accompanied Mike's entire career and continues to delight audiences of all ages.

The puppets are all hand operated within a rickety seaside style puppet booth, which heaves around alarmingly throughout the performance issuing bubbles, smoke, occasional jets of water and a variety of props. The show is extremely fast moving and a little anarchic but invariably leaves the audience, with a smile on their faces!

Mike formed Over The Top Puppet Co. in 1981 to take a show to the Edinburgh Fringe. From the good reviews earned there they went on to tour schools all over the UK. In 1984 Mike was awarded a bursary jointly funded by the Arts Council and The Puppet Centre during which he worked as a volunteer with the iconic Welfare State International from whom he learnt many of the puppet making skills that he uses to this day.