Jactito shows are imaginative, innovative and highly amusing. Children are fascinated by the enchanted worlds which Jactito create in their shows and invariably participate from the sidelines as they identify enthusiastically with the quirky, idiosynchratic puppet creatures they meet.

Jactito have a variety of shows for under 5's and for children aged 4 to 11 .... but they are not all for kids! Jactito are also involved in educational and therapeutic work in schools, community centres and in hospitals. Workshops are available for students studying texts from whatever the GCSE syllabus is. There are also puppet and mask making workshops for adults.

Jactito's artistry has built the company a strong reputation for innovative and enagaging work.

Jactito is a travelling theatre company that tours throughout the Country and abroad. It was founded in 1976 by James Barton and Joan Morris. The company is nationally acclaimed for its extraordinary visual presentations. In each production up to a hundred puppets appear.

The company is also renowned for producing exciting adaptations of Shakespeare's plays using the original texts combined with awesome moving images. These sculptures out of limewood can be as high as twelve feet. The company also collaborated with the "Young Vic" for three years under Michael Bogdanov.

Jactito have performed at The Royal National Theatre, The Royal Opera House (educational department) and The Barbican. They have also collaborated for three years with The English Shakespeare Company. In their production of 'Faust' it was described as "The most striking production" in the first International Arts Festival for twenty years in Lebanon.

Our very first show "Starship Exodus" was a tale set on the planet Exodus and was performed using over EIGHTY extraordinary puppets able to change their size, shape and colour. Said of the show ....

"An excellent show. The most imaginatively conceived and made puppets we saw during the festival. The use of jester heads and brilliant lurex for flames was contrasted with plain galvanised wire and beads for icicles. The manipulation of the various styles of puppets was very skilfully carried out and the leading character 'Plink', a loveable sock puppet, with a highly mobile range of expressions"
THEATRE ROYAL - PLYMOUTH

From the first show the sets and puppets have become even more elaborate and have developed without losing the spectacle and awe or more importantly the messages and morals within. Below is an image from another of our older shows 'Rainforest'.