Richard Babington

August 2025 – Creative Director – Spectacle Theatre at Lost Village Festival Another amazing experience with a great team. Both cast and crew excelled themselves this year, bringing an incredible amount of passion and grit to the lakeside. It’s a privilege to work with such a talented group of people who can turn an ambitious concept into a living, breathing reality. Forlorn Hope - A large-scale spectacle theatre piece staged over three days at Lost Village Festival. The story follows an isolated fishing village in the wake of a catastrophic storm. After losing their final boat—and their only lifeline to the mainland—the community gathers for a funeral in absentia to mourn their lost souls and their uncertain fate. But when a message breaks through the silence revealing that their ship, Hope, is still afloat, the village embarks on a journey of miraculous recovery and survival to bring the vessel home. @walktheplankarts Creative Director – Richard Babington Construction lead – George Babington @whatgeorgecreates Production Manager – Rebecca Lee Producer – Nathan Jackson Head of Production WTP – Gareth Hughes @gareth4647 Production Assistant – Victoria Sales @heart_vicky737 Maker, Lead pyrotechnician – Thomas Ferneyhough Maker, Pyrotechnician – Charles Swannie @cswannie92 Maker, Pyrotechnician – Kizzy Yuill @kingkizla Maker, Performer – Ruby Stephenson Maker – Tom Mortlock @mortlock_art Pyrotechnic Firer – Nick Kraven Technician – Erin Price @erinprice21 Technician – Bridget Ní dhuinn @bridget_ni_dhuinn Technician – Sam Klein @samklein03 Dock Carpenter – Giles Thaxton And special thanks to the 40 strong cast who held the show together photos @fredburns_films , @andrewwhitton and crew #outdoorart #festivalshow #spectacletheatre #outdoortheatre @leahvictoriamilsom @lalarosek @katydarlingx @sharon.keighley @nix.reyn @matt.warbo @beccamark @antwan24kc @astartecara @joe_e_lester

August 2025 – Creative Director – Spectacle Theatre at Lost Village Festival Another amazing experience with a great team. Both cast and crew excelled themselves this year, bringing an incredible amount of passion and grit to the lakeside. It’s a privilege to work with such a talented group of people who can turn an ambitious concept into a living, breathing reality. Forlorn Hope - A large-scale spectacle theatre piece staged over three days at Lost Village Festival. The story follows an isolated fishing village in the wake of a catastrophic storm. After losing their final boat—and their only lifeline to the mainland—the community gathers for a funeral in absentia to mourn their lost souls and their uncertain fate. But when a message breaks through the silence revealing that their ship, Hope, is still afloat, the village embarks on a journey of miraculous recovery and survival to bring the vessel home. @walktheplankarts Creative Director – Richard Babington Construction lead – George Babington @whatgeorgecreates Production Manager – Rebecca Lee Producer – Nathan Jackson Head of Production WTP – Gareth Hughes @gareth4647 Production Assistant – Victoria Sales @heart_vicky737 Maker, Lead pyrotechnician – Thomas Ferneyhough Maker, Pyrotechnician – Charles Swannie @cswannie92 Maker, Pyrotechnician – Kizzy Yuill @kingkizla Maker, Performer – Ruby Stephenson Maker – Tom Mortlock @mortlock_art Pyrotechnic Firer – Nick Kraven Technician – Erin Price @erinprice21 Technician – Bridget Ní dhuinn @bridget_ni_dhuinn Technician – Sam Klein @samklein03 Dock Carpenter – Giles Thaxton And special thanks to the 40 strong cast who held the show together photos @fredburns_films , @andrewwhitton and crew #outdoorart #festivalshow #spectacletheatre #outdoortheatre @leahvictoriamilsom @lalarosek @katydarlingx @sharon.keighley @nix.reyn @matt.warbo @beccamark @antwan24kc @astartecara @joe_e_lester

August 2025 – Creative Director – Spectacle Theatre at Lost Village Festival Saturday evening brought the first glimmer of hope to the island, culminating in a moment of collective light as hundreds of glowing messages in bottles drifted across the lake to our villagers. Forlorn Hope - A large-scale spectacle theatre piece staged over three days at Lost Village Festival. The story follows an isolated fishing village in the wake of a catastrophic storm. After losing their final boat—and their only lifeline to the mainland—the community gathers for a funeral in absentia to mourn their lost souls and their uncertain fate. But when a message breaks through the silence revealing that their ship, Hope, is still afloat, the village embarks on a journey of miraculous recovery and survival to bring the vessel home. @walktheplankarts Creative Director – Richard Babington Construction lead – George Babington @whatgeorgecreates Production Manager – Rebecca Lee Producer – Nathan Jackson Head of Production WTP – Gareth Hughes @gareth4647 Production Assistant – Victoria Sales @heart_vicky737 Maker, Lead pyrotechnician – Thomas Ferneyhough Maker, Pyrotechnician – Charles Swannie @cswannie92 Maker, Pyrotechnician – Kizzy Yuill @kingkizla Maker, Performer – Ruby Stephenson Maker – Tom Mortlock @mortlock_art Pyrotechnic Firer – Nick Kraven Technician – Erin Price @erinprice21 Technician – Bridget Ní dhuinn @bridget_ni_dhuinn Technician – Sam Klein @samklein03 Dock Carpenter – Giles Thaxton And special thanks to the 40 strong cast who held the show together photos @fredburns_films , @andrewwhitton and crew #outdoorart #festivalshow #spectacletheatre #outdoortheatre @leahvictoriamilsom @lalarosek @katydarlingx @sharon.keighley @nix.reyn @matt.warbo @beccamark @antwan24kc @astartecara @joe_e_lester

August 2025 – Creative Director – Spectacle Theatre at Lost Village Festival Friday evening’s performance saw the island villagers hold a funeral for both their lost friends and their final hope. To bring this surreal spectacle to life, we created a sombre nautical procession culminating in a funeral pyre, large-scale pyrotechnics, and ritualistic offerings to the sea. Forlorn Hope - A large-scale spectacle theatre piece staged over three days at Lost Village Festival. The story follows an isolated fishing village in the wake of a catastrophic storm. After losing their final boat—and their only lifeline to the mainland—the community gathers for a funeral in absentia to mourn their lost souls and their uncertain fate. But when a message breaks through the silence revealing that their ship, Hope, is still afloat, the village embarks on a journey of miraculous recovery and survival to bring the vessel home. @walktheplankarts Creative Director – Richard Babington Construction lead – George Babington Production Manager – Rebecca Lee Producer – Nathan Jackson Head of Production WTP – Gareth Hughes @gareth4647 Production Assistant – Victoria Sales @heart_vicky737 Maker, Lead pyrotechnician – Thomas Ferneyhough Maker, Pyrotechnician – Charles Swannie @cswannie92 Maker, Pyrotechnician – Kizzy Yuill @kingkizla Maker, Performer – Ruby Stephenson Maker – Tom Mortlock @mortlock_art Pyrotechnic Firer – Nick Kraven Technician – Erin Price @erinprice21 Technician – Bridget Ní dhuinn @bridget_ni_dhuinn Technician – Sam Klein @samklein03 Dock Carpenter – Giles Thaxton And special thanks to the 40 strong cast who held the show together photos @fredburns_films , @andrewwhitton and crew #outdoorart #festivalshow #spectacletheatre #outdoortheatre @leahvictoriamilsom @lalarosek @katydarlingx @sharon.keighley @nix.reyn @matt.warbo @beccamark @antwan24kc @astartecara @joe_e_lester

August 2025 – Creative Director – Spectacle Theatre at Lost Village Festival One of the most complicated set pieces of this show was the boat at the heart of our story. For the show’s finale, this vessel had to "sail" through a sea of people, navigating the main arena to be reunited with the cast. The challenge of sailing a real boat across dry land is exactly the kind of problem that gets the team excited. Lead by @whatgeorgecreates , we designed and built a custom rig that allowed the boat to roll, yaw, list, and sway (yes, I’ve been learning the nautical lingo). To bring the vessel to life, we integrated a full suite of SFX directly into the structure—including water misters (ultrasonic and high pressure), smoke machines, pyrotechnics, and confetti—alongside a complete internal lighting rig. By combining the boat with two modified vintage vans, an electric-converted Reliant Rialto, and various nautical set pieces, we were able to temporarily transform the festival's main arena into our fishing village, creating an immersive and high-octane finale. Forlorn Hope - A large-scale spectacle theatre piece staged over three days at Lost Village Festival. The story follows an isolated fishing village in the wake of a catastrophic storm. After losing their final boat—and their only lifeline to the mainland—the community gathers for a funeral in absentia to mourn their lost souls and their uncertain fate. But when a message breaks through the silence revealing that their ship, Hope, is still afloat, the village embarks on a journey of miraculous recovery and survival to bring the vessel home. @walktheplankarts Creative Director – Richard Babington Construction lead – George Babington Production Manager – Rebecca Lee Producer – Nathan Jackson Head of Prod. WTP – Gareth Hughes @gareth4647 Prod. Assistant – Victoria Sales @heart_vicky737 Thomas Ferneyhough Charles Swannie @cswannie92 Ruby Stephenson Nick Kraven Erin Price @erinprice21 Bridget Ní dhuinn @bridget_ni_dhuinn Sam Klein Tom Mortlock @mortlock_art Kizzy Yuill @kingkizla #outdoorart #festivalshow #spectacletheatre #outdoortheatre Photos - Fred Burns @fredburns_films , Andrew Whitton @andrewwhitton

August 2025 – Creative Director – Spectacle Theatre at Lost Village Festival One of the most complicated set pieces of this show was the boat at the heart of our story. For the show’s finale, this vessel had to "sail" through a sea of people, navigating the main arena to be reunited with the cast. The challenge of sailing a real boat across dry land is exactly the kind of problem that gets the team excited. Lead by @whatgeorgecreates , we designed and built a custom rig that allowed the boat to roll, yaw, list, and sway (yes, I’ve been learning the nautical lingo). To bring the vessel to life, we integrated a full suite of SFX directly into the structure—including water misters (ultrasonic and high pressure), smoke machines, pyrotechnics, and confetti—alongside a complete internal lighting rig. By combining the boat with two modified vintage vans, an electric-converted Reliant Rialto, and various nautical set pieces, we were able to temporarily transform the festival's main arena into our fishing village, creating an immersive and high-octane finale. Forlorn Hope - A large-scale spectacle theatre piece staged over three days at Lost Village Festival. The story follows an isolated fishing village in the wake of a catastrophic storm. After losing their final boat—and their only lifeline to the mainland—the community gathers for a funeral in absentia to mourn their lost souls and their uncertain fate. But when a message breaks through the silence revealing that their ship, Hope, is still afloat, the village embarks on a journey of miraculous recovery and survival to bring the vessel home. @walktheplankarts Creative Director – Richard Babington Construction lead – George Babington Production Manager – Rebecca Lee Producer – Nathan Jackson Head of Prod. WTP – Gareth Hughes @gareth4647 Prod. Assistant – Victoria Sales @heart_vicky737 Lead pyrotechnician – Thomas Ferneyhough Maker– Charles Swannie @cswannie92 Performer – Ruby Stephenson Pyrotechnician – Nick Kraven Technicians Erin Price @erinprice21 Bridget Ní dhuinn @bridget_ni_dhuinn Sam Klein Tom Mortlock @mortlock_art Kizzy Yuill @kingkizla #outdoorart #festivalshow #spectacletheatre #outdoortheatre

August 2025 – Creative Director – Spectacle Theatre at Lost Village Festival This year’s show featured a custom-built lakeside dock designed to establish the world of the island fishing village. The build had a its challenges with changing water levels, blue green algae and having to withstand the abuse of a festival crowd whilst looking dilapidated. With built in lighting, SFX and other technical tricks it was a project we enjoyed immensely. Ran, as expertly as ever, by @whatgeorgecreates and a great team Forlorn Hope - A large-scale spectacle theatre piece staged over three days at Lost Village Festival. The story follows an isolated fishing village in the wake of a catastrophic storm. After losing their final boat—and their only lifeline to the mainland—the community gathers for a funeral in absentia to mourn their lost souls and their uncertain fate. But when a message breaks through the silence revealing that their ship, Hope, is still afloat, the village embarks on a journey of miraculous recovery and survival to bring the vessel home. @walktheplankarts Creative Director – Richard Babington Construction lead – George Babington Production Manager – Rebecca Lee Producer – Nathan Jackson Head of Production WTP – Gareth Hughes @gareth4647 Production Assistant – Victoria Sales @heart_vicky737 Maker, Lead pyrotechnician – Thomas Ferneyhough Maker, Pyrotechnician – Charles Swannie @cswannie92 Maker, Pyrotechnician – Kizzy Yuill @kingkizla Maker, Performer – Ruby Stephenson Maker – Tom Mortlock @mortlock_art Pyrotechnic Firer – Nick Kraven Technician – Erin Price @erinprice21 Technician – Bridget Ní dhuinn @bridget_ni_dhuinn Technician – Sam Klein @samklein03 Dock Carpenter – Giles Thaxton And special thanks to the 40 strong cast who held the show together photos @fredburns_films #outdoorart #festivalshow #spectacletheatre #outdoortheatre @leahvictoriamilsom @lalarosek @katydarlingx @sharon.keighley @nix.reyn @matt.warbo @beccamark @antwan24kc @astartecara @joe_e_lester

July 2025 – Puppeteer – The Herds - MIF In July 2025, The herds arrived as the spectacular opening event for the Manchester International Festival (MIF25). We stampeded the puppets through city centre landmarks, accompanied by an orchestral performance from the Manchester Camerata. The journey continued with two more shows taking us through the residential streets of Heywood and concluded its Greater Manchester leg at the wetlands of Pennington Flash Country Park. An absolute privilege to be involved, the show had over 70 puppets in it and the puppetry team was over 150. I was teamed with James Riordan and Erin Price on one of the mighty Gorillas. Another highlight was a remarkable workshop by puppetry director Craig Leo, truly inspiring. THE HERDS was a monumental global climate action project that saw a migration of over 70 life-sized animal puppets travel 20,000km from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle. Created by The Walk Productions—the team behind the refugee puppet Little Amal—the project used sustainable materials like upcycled cardboard and plywood to dramatise the displacement of wildlife due to the climate crisis. @erinprice21 @_jamesriordan_ @the__herds @amirnizarzoabi @jussaradel_a @themistoklismales @mihlali_bele @sipho_ngxola @thecraigleo @factory_international @manchestercamerata #TheHerds #MIF25 #ManchesterEvents #ClimateCrisis #PublicArt #FactoryInternational #GreaterManchester #puppetry

July 2025 – Puppeteer – The Herds - MIF In July 2025, The herds arrived as the spectacular opening event for the Manchester International Festival (MIF25). We stampeded the puppets through city centre landmarks, accompanied by an orchestral performance from the Manchester Camerata. The journey continued with two more shows taking us through the residential streets of Heywood and concluded its Greater Manchester leg at the wetlands of Pennington Flash Country Park. An absolute privilege to be involved, the show had over 70 puppets in it and the puppetry team was over 150. I was teamed with James Riordan and Erin Price on one of the mighty Gorillas. Another highlight was a remarkable workshop by puppetry director Craig Leo, truly inspiring. THE HERDS was a monumental global climate action project that saw a migration of over 70 life-sized animal puppets travel 20,000km from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle. Created by The Walk Productions—the team behind the refugee puppet Little Amal—the project used sustainable materials like upcycled cardboard and plywood to dramatise the displacement of wildlife due to the climate crisis. @erinprice21 @_jamesriordan_ @the__herds @amirnizarzoabi @jussaradel_a @themistoklismales @mihlali_bele @sipho_ngxola @thecraigleo @factory_international @manchestercamerata #TheHerds #MIF25 #ManchesterEvents #ClimateCrisis #PublicArt #FactoryInternational #GreaterManchester #puppetry

July 2025 – Puppeteer – The Herds - MIF In July 2025, The herds arrived as the spectacular opening event for the Manchester International Festival (MIF25). We stampeded the puppets through city centre landmarks, accompanied by an orchestral performance from the Manchester Camerata. The journey continued with two more shows taking us through the residential streets of Heywood and concluded its Greater Manchester leg at the wetlands of Pennington Flash Country Park. An absolute privilege to be involved, the show had over 70 puppets in it and the puppetry team was over 150. I was teamed with James Riordan and Erin Price on one of the mighty Gorillas. Another highlight was a remarkable workshop by puppetry director Craig Leo, truly inspiring. THE HERDS was a monumental global climate action project that saw a migration of over 70 life-sized animal puppets travel 20,000km from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle. Created by The Walk Productions—the team behind the refugee puppet Little Amal—the project used sustainable materials like upcycled cardboard and plywood to dramatise the displacement of wildlife due to the climate crisis. @erinprice21 @_jamesriordan_ @the__herds @amirnizarzoabi @jussaradel_a @themistoklismales @mihlali_bele @sipho_ngxola @thecraigleo @factory_international @manchestercamerata #TheHerds #MIF25 #ManchesterEvents #ClimateCrisis #PublicArt #FactoryInternational #GreaterManchester #puppetry

Lighting Designer – Canada tour May 2025 – Libravian – Brú Theatre Great to be back in Canada again with the Brú gang - C'mon Lynn @bru_theatre @_jamesriordan_ @sorchadefaoitex

March 2025 – Creative director – Macnas – St. Patrick's Day Dublin Alf the newt back on the streets of Dublin, this time, up the front, leading the amazing St. Patrick's Day parade. With 4000 performers in the parade, an audience on the streets of half a million, and a global reach of 600 million, it really was a great day. Original Macnas Alf Team for Turas Alf/ Alf’s Journey Creative Director - Richard Babington Production Designer - Dave Young @talesoftheboneyard Technical Designer - George Babington @whatgeorgecreates Production Manager - @veronica_foo Alf Cover Designer - Lisa Sweeney @lisasweeney.studio Alf Fin and Tail Designer - Amanda Donovan @amandadonovan737 Costume Designer - Cherie White @c_l_white Performance Director - James Riordan @_jamesriordan_ Composer - Rob Moloney Hair Designer - Siobhan Patterson @hairdramalama Make Up Designer - Michelle Ruane @michelleruaneartist Writer, Backstory - Nithy Kasa @nithykasa Tommy Casby @tommycasby Gavin Morgan @gavogavog Angie Byrne @artytypo Bill Wright @pookaluke2004 Bridget Ní Dhuinn @bridget_ni_dhuinn Eugene Finnegan Ester Stupers @essewes Photos – John McMahon and Emilija Jefremova #giantpuppets @macnas @researchireland #puppetry #puppet