Spare Parts Puppet Theatre

It’s great for kids to have something they can relate to. I had some kids at my house the other week and noticed they seemed happiest when glued to the Nickelodeon channel on Foxtel.
Although I would never be a person who decrees all American shows are crass, humourless half-​witted attempts at entertainment and education, I do see the need for children to experience at least some drama that reflects their reality back to them.
This is why I’m such a fan of Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. The roughly 30 year old theatre group is a quintessentially West Australian institution for children.
They perform numerous plays each year and this school holidays kids can look forward to seeing The Deep — a play based on the book by Tim Winton. It’s about an Aussie girl — Alice. Alice is scared of venturing from the safety of the blue ocean to the scarier and more challenging deep blue waters but eventually overcomes her fear with help of some new found friends.
Put simply, it’s about kids living by the beach and jumping off a jetty. I think this play would probably resonate in a more real way with kids than New York Minute, which, put simply, is about two teens who are playing tweens. They scurry around New York City looking hot and chasing boys.
Kids lap up the American stuff but the longevity and popularity of Spare Parts Puppet Theatre suggests some kids like a bit of ‘realism’ too.
The theatre group also perform for schools and run holiday puppet making workshops for four to twelve year olds.
The often peculiar puppets engage kids’ imaginations and highlight the unique and wonderful world that is Western Australia.

Spare Parts Puppet Theatre has been wowing audiences and thrilling children since the early 1980s. I remember going to see a show of theirs when I was a kid as part of a school trip. They are still going strong and put on 5 seasons every year. There is also a puppet museum and shop as part of the theatre complex.
If you are looking for something to do to keep your kids busy over the school holidays, book tickets to the current show at Spare Parts.

If you’ve got young kids, bringing them here is one of the best things you can do with them in the school holidays. The theatre generally runs two sessions a day of their shows, which are beautifully crafted puppet theatre. As Samantha points out, often it feels as though their productions are pitched at a certain age group; the last time I went it felt as though a lot of the show went over the head of my six year old son, so if you’ve got fidgety kids it might be worth checking what age group the show is intended for. That being said, generally the fact that there are awesome puppets on stage will be enough to maintain their interest for an hour and it’s a great way to introduce your kids to theatre. It’s one of those places where it’s nice to have a kid along as an excuse to enjoy the show yourself, so you may find you get as much from the experience as the kids do. This is a company we are very lucky to have in Fremantle and it’s well worth checking out.

I remember stumbling upon Spare Parts as I walked past the window and almost screamed as a group of puppets were staring right back at me! Once my heart rate slowed down again I was intrigued as to what the building was and saw a small sign saying Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. I loved the building it was in and thought it was such a cool idea and totally unique in Perth. Over the past few years their signs have been getting bigger and it’s very easy to tell where and what it is without being scared out of your wits by puppets in a window!
The theatre has actually been there for about thirty years and they put on five seasons a year. Their shows are great for primary school children to come and watch a different type of performance and learn about a new way to express a story or narrative. There is also a puppet museum and shop to visit during weekdays which is free to wander around and learn about the history of puppetry. The theatre also hosts workshops for holiday activities or as art education in-​school workshops. It’s a great part of the community and unique addition to the arts in Perth, if you want to show your support for the SPPT, you can even adopt a puppet!

Spare Parts Puppet Theatre is certainly a very different sort of theatre. I didn’t know what to quite expect when I recently attended with a large group of young high school students to see the production of Blueback.
I can sheepishly say that I fell asleep, as the stage was cast in a mellow blue light, the music was very light and airy, and the seats were way too comfortable!
Unfortunately, the young high school students were not young enough for this adaptation, and I believe primary school students would have made a better audience.
The theatre though is very interesting. As you enter, on display are many past puppets used by the theatre. The kids found that quite interesting. As I mentioned, the seats are very comfortable, and it was very interesting to see the book transformed into a puppet play. You end up forgetting that there are people on stage moving the puppets and props and you concentrate solely on the characters.