With two world premieres, one European premiere and four UK theatrical premieres of the highest quality from Austria, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia and Scotland, MANIPULATE 2014 saw the welcome return of leading artists – Duda Paiva with Bestiaires, Stephen Mottram with The Seas of Organillo, Figurentheater Tuebingen with Hotel de Rive and Tortoise in a Nutshell with Grit. Acclaimed USA-Scottish aerial company Paper Doll Militia also appeared for the first time with its brilliant short piece Unhinged. We were also pleased to present the Scottish-based company Faux Theatre, whose production Torn had started life as a work in progress at MANIPULATE two years previously. Rounding off this year’s programme, world-renowned experimental Estonian animator Pritt Pärn introduced a programme of his work and, sharing many of his trade secrets and stories, leading UK animator Will Becher (Wallace & Gromit; Shaun the Sheep) was one of the highlights of an industry-focused Scottish animation day, hosted by Oscar-nominated animator Joanna Quinn.
