2025 UK Tour
Southbank Centre, London (Queen Elizabeth Hall) | 29 May-1 June
Buxton Opera House | 6-8 June
Oxford Playhouse | 11-14 June
Belgrade, Coventry | 18-21 June
Opu, a young boy in Bengal, dreams of one day becoming an elephant trainer. When he befriends Janu, an Asian Elephant, their friendship is the first step on an adventure so huge, it spans decades and continents.
On their separate paths they face many challenges – fearsome encounters, stormy seas and strange new worlds.
Years in the future, Opu, now an old man, hears that world famous magician Harry Houdini will vanish an elephant, live on stage in New York City. Could it really be Janu, Opu’s old friend, so far from home? He too must bravely make the long journey into the unknown to find out.
This moving story of friendship, belonging and one incredible journey from Bengal to the bright lights of Broadway was named the New York Times ‘Critic’s Pick’, hailing it “an alluring spectacle”.
#TheVanishingElephant
The Vanishing Elephant UK Tour is presented in association with Buxton Opera House.
Our UK adventures are kindly supported by Culture Ireland.
Director – Paul Bosco Mc Eneaney
Composer – Aoife Kavanagh
Set and Costume Designer – Sabine Dargent
Writer – Charles Way
Puppetry Designer & Director – Helen Foan
Choreographer- Jaychandran Palazhy
Lighting Designer – Simon Bond
Katriona Brown, Adi Chugh, Terrance Fleming, James Grimm, David Morgan, Philippa O’Hara, Iris Schmid, Maeve Smyth, Madhav Vasantha
Audience Feedback :
“…beautiful and sad and meaningful and powerful, the best theatre I’ve seen on stage in some time.”
“This is a beautiful and very moving theatre piece.”
“This is a wonderfully poignant piece for all ages.”
“Intelligent, entertaining, relevant, sensitive, absorbing.”
“It’s such a fabulous show. The elephant puppet is fascinating, and truly mesmerising to watch. It has so much personality and character!”“What an experience!!”
“Each production is better than the next & we always have a wonderful time & learn something new, it’s so enriching to share with our little one…”
The Vanishing Elephant was named the “Critic’s Pick” in the New York Times
An “alluring spectacle” – Laurel Graeber, New York Times
“Clever and touching” – Alix Cohen, Woman Around Town
“A Soulful family concoction that evokes War Horse and Life of PI”
“Undeniably moving” – Adrian Dimanlig
“…a masterclass in puppetry” – Karla Borders Pope
“enchanting and mesmerising”- Anu Kapur
“The puppets are so amazing that most of the time I looked at the puppets and I forgot they were puppets, I thought they were real animals!”
“They were really cool because as Jenny/Janu got bigger, so did the puppets!”
“This show taught me that friendship can be everlasting if you have a really strong connection with someone, not even time or distance can break that.”
“Astonishing!” – Broadway World Kid Critics
“The most amazing theater experience for families…the show was incredible (still mesmerized by Jenny the elephant!)” – Little Kid Big City New York
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