The Beginnings of Puppets Who Kill.
Puppets Who Kill began as a one-man theatre show created, written, produced and performed by comedian John Pattison at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 1995. The show was an instant hit, and was subsequently remounted in the spring of 1996 at the Factory Studio Theatre in Toronto. The show then played the Montreal and Winnipeg Fringe Festivals to much success and critical acclaim. The play was also featured on CBC TV’s On the Arts with David Gilmour.
“John Pattison….a brilliant ventriloquist and puppeteer.”
The Globe and Mail“A hilarious unleashing of the wicked child within.”
Eye Magazine“Wickedly funny.”
Montreal Gazette“Pattison’s talent as a ventriloquist is awesome.”
Now Magazine“Puppetry at its cleverest and funniest.”
Toronto Star
Here is some press for John Pattison’s theatre play Puppets Who Kill.
Click on image for larger view.
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UPDATE – FALL 2011
John Pattison performs new show Beyond Puppets Who Kill
In the summer of 2011 John Pattison performed his new one man show Beyond Puppets Who Kill at the Hamilton and London Fringe Festivals in Canada.
Here is a review from The View magazine in Hamilton:
BEYOND PUPPETS WHO KILL
I absolutely loved this show, and intend to go back for a second viewing. From “Fraggle Rock,†John Pattison shows off fantastic puppetry skills, plus his ventriloquism and characterizations are superb. Also, it was a warm fuzzy treat to hear a first–hand account of who Jim Henson really was. Pattison’s personal stories work perfectly as space between his hilarious, top–rate puppet sequences. Bravo. A joy.
Here’s a review from Theatre in London:
BEST PUPPET SHOW EVER
Beyond Puppets Who Kill
Written and performed by John Pattison
As a fan of the Comedy Network show “Puppets Who Kill,” this performance was everything I had hoped it would be. With the same biting, twisted humour of the aforementioned show, Pattison’s performance is based around telling stories of his time becoming a puppeteer, working with Jim Henson and eventually developing the show this piece is named after. A good mix of story and back and forth puppet banter, similar to the style of Jeff Dunham but way, way better.
If you loved the Muppets or Fraggle Rock as a kid, check this show out and see what a puppet show for adults is like.
4 out of 5 stars.
This show will be remounted soon in Toronto in the coming year.