Manipulate Festival
The Raft of the Crab
★★★★☆ Inventively emotional
The Raft of the Crab, at the Studio Theatre for one performance only as part of Manipulate, is an engaging, human and wonderfully performed piece from Scotland-based Ninon Noiret, detailing her diagnosis of cancer, her treatment and recovery.
Size Matters
★★★☆☆ Whimsical
Size Matters, at the Traverse as part of the Manipulate festival, is an inventive if uneven production.
Manipulate live
A dozen live works for Manipulate Festival 2026
This year’s Manipulate Festival contains 12 live pieces of puppetry and visual performance, half of them from Scottish and Scotland-based creatives, over its run from Wednesday 4 to Tuesday 10 February 2026.
When Prophecy Fails
★★★★★ Purposeful
Adapted from a 1954 American study into the social psychology and cognitive dissonance of a UFO religion called the Seekers, When Prophecy Fails is an exploration of the community and humanity behind what could easily be perceived as cult.
Manipulate Festival: The Law of Gravity
★★★★★ Ethereal
A collaboration between pioneering music group Scottish Ensemble and innovative puppet company Blind Summit, The Law of Gravity is an exploration and collision of the boundaries between two diverse disciplines; where they exist, where they can be bent, where they can be broken and remade.
Manipulate: These Things Aren’t Mine
★★★★☆ Intense
Publicly screened only once before, at Bristol Circus City, Manipulate Festival marks the Scottish debut of These Things Aren’t Mine.
Ragnarok
★★★★☆ Dark
Tortoise in a Nutshell has brought all its considerable prowess in live animation to the stage with Ragnarok, a dark and foreboding take on an ancient Norse myth, foretelling the end of our world.
Envahisseurs (Invaders)
★★★★★ Jelly crime
It’s the little things which count in Compagnie Bakélite’s intense table-top object theatre, Envahisseurs (Invaders), at the Traverse as part of the Manipulate Festival 2024 for two performances only.
Last Rites
★★★★☆ Stunning performance
Following the award-winning success of Love Beyond (Act of Remembrance) in last year’s Manipulate Festival, Ramesh Meyyappan has produced another stunning performance in Last Rites, which he co-created with George Mann, who also directs this Ad Infinitum production.
The House
★★★★☆ Darkly comical
Danish director and puppeteer Sofie Krog introduces The House by reminding the audience that “walls have ears” and that the darkly comical tale will be told by the walls of the Warehouse Family Funeral Home.
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