Dowtcha Puppets
Dowtcha Puppets is a Cork based puppetry company established in 2002 by Cliff Dolliver and Mick Lynch, as a trading name of Dolliver Design Limited.
We have produced nine new puppet shows for young audiences, seven street parades; two commissioned one-off adult pieces and have developed a programme of puppetry and puppet making workshops.
It all began with the first in the "Mick An Chnoic" series, "More than a Nuff". The show premiered at the Granary Theatre as part of the 2002 Midsummer Festival; went on to play the Earagil Festival in Donegal and the Babaro International Children´s Festival in Galway, before doing the rounds of the Cork County libraries and National schools.
We followed that with a Christmas production at the Triskel Arts Centre called "How the Mice Saved Christmas", and produced a new "Mick An Chnoic" show every year until 2006.
We have been commissioned to produce and tour "Bleep and Bloop Enjoy a change of Heart" for the Southern Health Board; by a private client to perform at a 40th birthday celebration in "The Ivory Tower" restaurant, and by Mel Mercier of the UCC Gamalan Orchestra to accompany premiere performances of a new composition in Dublin and Cork.
As our "Mick An Chnoic" audience crept up in age we introduced a more innocent work, "Grandma´s Garden", for younger audiences, and Claire Gowdy and Davy Dummigan joined the company.
Our involvement in Parades stared with the Dublin St Patrick´s Day Parade in 2003 and we´ve been involved in most Cork St Patrick´s Day parades since then and several community parades.
Cliff Dolliver
Cliff is a designer/maker with considerable visual theatre and puppetry experience with Henson´s creature workshop in London, Handspan theatre and Black Hole Theatre in Melbourne, Australia.
Mick Lynch
Mick is a writer, actor, and former lead singer with the band Stump.
Davy Dummigan
Davy is a designer / maker with a long freelance career specialising in painting.
Claire Gowdy
Claire is a puppeteer, actor and writer freelancing with Dowtcha and teaching