• Summary
  • Trailer
  • Photos
  • Characters
  • Credits
  • Presenter’s Corner

The Star Keeper

Richard Lacroix, André Laliberté, Richard Morin | 1997
Age:
5 years and up
Length:
60 min.
Year:
1997

Summary

A star falling from the heavens was enough… to turn The Star Keeper, a show by Théâtre de l’Œil, into a little miracle. For twenty years now, Pretzel, a funny little worm with a funny little face has travelled the roads and skies of the whole world. Created in 1997 by Richard Lacroix, André Laliberté and Richard Morin, Le Porteur / The Star Keeper has visited more than ten countries of course including Canada and Quebec… For a total of more than seven hundred performances! And a few awards: the prestigious Chalmers Canadian Play Award, Theatre for Young Audiences in 2001, a Citation of Excellence in the Art of Puppetry from UNIMA-USA in 2005 and three Masques in 1999 from the Académie québécoise du théâtre: Best Production for Young Audiences, Best Set Design and Special Contribution for the puppet design.

Theatre of images, shadows and light, the world of Pretzel is inhabited by comical, surprising and touching characters: a spider who tap dances in the theatre-belly of a man, a mermaid playing hard to get at a fish ball, a family of picnicking seahorses, a temperamental baby and a dignified lady who is very, very old…

Universal theatre without words and without borders, The Star Keeper is immersed in the magical universe of children’s dreams. The puppets, music, scenography and special effects create a delicate and poetic language which tells the story of the initiatory quest of Pretzel and his shining star. André Laliberté manipulates illusion the way others play with words, and the chemistry created between the puppets and the subtle technical effects commands admiration.

Le Porteur / The Star Keeper premiered at the French Theater of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in November 1997 and began its international career at The Kennedy Center in Washington (DC) in spring 1999.

Trailer

Photos

Characters

Pretzel
A small, friendly worm who loves to help others. A chivalrous knight lost in modern times.
Daisy Bygone
A very old lady whose heart is as fragile as Chinese porcelain.
Pierrot
Rather grouchy and clumsy, he is responsible for bringing in the night and lighting the stars in the sky.
Maggie Mischief
A spoiled little girl who throws terrible tantrums when she doesn’t get her way.
The Seahorse Family
World travellers and litterers, they travel around the ocean floor with their camper, leaving heaps of garbage in their wake.
Cedrick the Centaur
So big that his head is literally in the clouds, he occasionally leans down to help those smaller than him.
The Three Sleepwalkers
Triplets with two faces, who alternate between fantasies and dreams. Their feet never really touch the ground.
The Accordion-Fish
The grand champions of underwater ping-pong, they’re always together, no matter what they’re looking for: a bubble, a ball, or a shipwrecked star.

The Bubble Charmer
He captures, tames and collects all bubbles that come within his reach. A real "bubblyphile".

Credits

Storyboard
Richard Lacroix, André Laliberté, Richard Morin
Stage Direction
André Laliberté
Puppet Design
Richard Morin
Set and Prop Design
Richard Lacroix
Music
Libert Subirana
Lighting
Luc Désilets
Movement Coach
Sylvain Émard
Cast
Jean Cummings
Stéphane Heine
Myriame Larose
Graham Soul