Bom-Bane’s Family Players
Since 2013, I have been a proud member of The Bom-Bane’s Family Players. Bom-Bane’s is a wonderful little cafe and music venue in Brighton, founded and run by musician and mechanical hat maker Jane Bom-Bane. I started working there, washing up dishes, in 2010, after having graduated from my BA degree in art from Brighton University. Bom-Bane’s was already renowned for being a special, unique place where all the staff got involved in Jane’s original folk musicals. I was too shy to sing, and thought I never would… but Bom-Bane’s has a magical effect on people and before long I was singing a solo as the flower girl in a musical Jane wrote about the history of the building which housed Bom-Bane’s. Soon after, Jane encouraged me to put on a little puppet show there (as I had just become interested in puppetry), I tentatively agreed… and the rest is history! I wonder if I would be a performer/puppeteer if it weren’t for Bom-Bane’s. This place has definitely shaped me as an artist and as a person. Here are some of the projects I have been involved with as my time as a “Bom-Bane’s Family Player”. Please look up Bom-Bane’s, and if in Brighton, take a visit! It’s a real Brighton institution, and there’s nowhere else quite like it.
Bom-Bane’s FAERIE, Christmas 2023
FAERIE is an original, playful, funny and poetic musical production written and produced by the wonderful one-and-only wordsmith Jane Bom-Bane. It was inspired by various faerie folklore from around the world, from the Scottish Ghilly Du to the Bavarian Krampus. It features puppets and a shadow film by Daisy Jordan, costumes by the performers and, as always with Bom-Bane’s, a themed meal to match made by the cast. Starring Jane Bom-Bane, Eliza Skelton, Martin Peters and Daisy Jordan.
Jane Bom-Bane’s Merrily on High christmas show
Above: An excerpt from the show.
First performed in 2013 and resurrected 4 times since, Christmas show 'Merrily on High' is an original story told with puppets and original songs. 2 course meal and show - an evening for the whole family with hearty home made food, songs and puppets brought to you by the Bom-Bane Family Players – Jane Bom-Bane, Daisy Jordan, Martin Peters, Eliza Skelton and Andre Schmidt.
Songs and story by Jane Bom-Bane, puppets by Daisy Jordan.
Performed by Jane Bom-Bane, Martin Peters, Eliza Skelton and Daisy Jordan.
Menu by Andre Schmidt.
Jane Bom-Bane’s Saippuakivikauppias
“Lovingly crafted […] An all-round sensory treat, this thoughtful existential fable effortlessly sucks the audience into its beautifully rendered world.” - Nick Aldwinckle, The Critic
Photos taken by Abigail Sidebotham; photos of collages by Daisy Jordan
"Saippuakivikauppias" (meaning the "The Soapstone Seller" in Finnish), is a collaborative musical and puppetry piece with Jane Bom-Bane for the Brighton Fringe 2015. The original tale was written in verse by Jane Bom-Bane in 2002, inspired by the Palindromic year. The Finnish word was the longest Palindromic word she could find at the time.
For this show, the audience followed the Midgard Serpent down into the underbelly of Bom-Bane's music cafe, where the tale of a troubled craftsman driven and hampered by his compulsion to remain symmetrical was told through original song, puppetry and animation, followed by a home-cooked Finnish feast.
Story, music and songs written and performed by Jane Bom-Bane, with beautiful harmonies by Eliza Skelton and Martin Peters.
Puppets and artwork created and performed by Daisy Jordan
Finnish menu created by Andre Schmidt and Anna Schmidt.
Jane Bom-Bane’s Snow White and The Seven Sisters
Snow White and The Seven Sisters is an original folk opera written and composed by Jane Bom-bane of Bom-Bane’s cafe and Eliza Skelton in December 2018. It is based around the story of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, but also incorporates various mythology and folklore around the various Seven Sisters that appear all over the world. The show features performances by Jane Bom-Bane, Eliza Skelton, Kate Daisy Grant, Becca Dyer, Martin Peters and Daisy Jordan.
I designed and created this “Sneezy” puppet for the show, along with some collages used in the production. I also designed the show poster collaboratively with graphic artist Ulysses Black, the layout of which was very much inspired by the original Disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs poster.
