The Vanishing Elephant

The Vanishing Elephant

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.

 

VIEW OUR DIGITAL PROGRAMME

VIEW OUR STUDY GUIDE 

Cast & Crew

Director
PAUL BOSCO MC ENEANEY
Composer
AOIFE KAVANAGH
Set & Costume Designer
SABINE DARGENT
Writer
CHARLES WAY
Consultant & Composer
MD PALLAVI
Puppet Designer and Puppetry Director
HELEN FOAN
Puppetry Associate
ASHLEIGH CHEADLE
Choreographer
JAYACHANDRAN PALAZHY
Lighting Designer
SIMON BOND

Adi Chugh

David Morgan Iris Schmid James Grimm Katriona Brown Madhav Vasantha Maeve Smyth Philippa O’Hara Terrance Fleming

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…”

Reviews

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

 

Would You Like To Volunteer?

We are building a team of volunteers to work alongside us on upcoming exciting projects and we need YOU!

We are looking for people with a wide range of skills, whether you are a performer, an administrator or have amazing people skills, we want to hear from you! What’s important to us is that you are excited by creating world class, theatrical magic for young audiences and their families.

This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone that might want to dedicate some spare time to a registered charity, want a sneak peak behind the scenes of an international theatre company, learn some new skills or make some new friends and have a bit of fun!

If you would like to be contacted by us next time we are taking on volunteers for an upcoming project, get in touch here and tell us a little about yourself!