Curious Cargo has a selection of highly visual, comic, intriguing, interactive strolling acts which are available
for bookings throughout the year (Lollipop Patrol, The Lost Luggage Porters, The Temperance Lady (& The Temperance Society) & Busy Lizzie.

Click on an image to find out more

Curious Cargo creates street theatre & visual theatre pieces for unconventional settings. As a performance company Curious Cargo has worked at festival & events across the country including Showzam Festival, Blackpool, Glastonbury & V festivals. Curious Cargo has also performed in settings such as the Children's Hospital in Birmingham, Manchester Art Gallery, Liverpool Museum & Early Years settings.

Curious Cargo offers bespoke workshop and training packages in physical & visual theatre techniques.
Curious Cargo also undertakes site-specific/event specific commissioned shows.

Strolling Shows: available for bookings

Lollipop Patrol

With excessive enthusiasm and a slippery grip on reality, the Lollipop Patrol are here to help and hinder. Fluorescent and effervescent, the 64th emergency service, the luminous hand of the law, they are a veritable flurry of fluoro. Experience their traffic-trauma, delight in their neon neuroisis, and cross them at your peril!

A comic character walkabout show with two performers.

Quotes about the Lollipop Patrol:

"And watch out for those officious lollipop ladies who seem intent on helping people get to places they just don't want to go"
The Guardian, Lyn Gardner, review of Streets of Brighton Festival.

" Curious Cargo's Lollipop Ladies were an asset to the Art Car Parade, and the audience loved their mischievous redirecting of traffic and people, and their banter delighted passers-by." Liz Pugh, Producer - Walk the Plank

"The work of the company is always of the highest quality, and they are reliable and easy to deal with from a production point of view, as well as being creative and playful when performing." Liz Pugh, Producer - Walk the Plank

"The Lollipop Ladies went down an absolute treat at the Feel Good Festival. It was a delight to see you encourage such a wide variety of people to play and laugh - this is exactly what we wanted to achieve! Your antics really brightened up the day and gave unsuspecting passers-by full permission to be silly. I particularly liked it when you propositioned one of the council staff who was there to empty the bins - I'm pretty sure you made his day!"
Kelly Allen, Arts Development Assistant, Rochdale Council, 2009.

"Curious Cargo entice you into their extraordinary world with grace, humour and a touch of anarchy. The Lollipop Patrol created just the right amount of consternation and mayhem to gather a loyal following in just a few hours. Accessible and high quality, both shows were hugely popular with people of all ages and the company were a joy to work with - positive, professional and fun".
Julie Tait, Director, Kendal Arts International (Lakes Alive & Mintfest)

"You two are absolutely the best Lollipop Ladies ever! You're awesome!" member of the public, Ricoh Womens Golf Championship, St Annes 2009.

"I have no idea why you are here but you've made my day, thankyou!" member of the public, Worcester Street Festival, 2008

"Larger than life and thoroughly entertaining", member of the public, Worcester Street Festival

Visit the curious cargo gallery and video clips to view images from a range of performances.


Lost Luggage Porters

Travel back in time with the Lost Luggage Porters to a world of monochrome, wonderment and curiosity. Join these silent movie characters in their quest to find the railway station, and experience their puzzlement and predicaments as they try to navigate their way through our modern-day metropolis. Accompanied by a soundscape of steam trains, watch as they explore the bizarre contents of their cargo ….. weird and wonderful tales unfold. Expect the unexpected!

A strolling show with static sequences, incorporating visual/physical theatre techniques, suitcase puppetry, dance/movement, & music/soundscapes.

Quotes about Lost Luggage Porters:

"Curious Cargo were a huge hit with all ages. They are completely professional and polished with fantastic crowd-drawing appeal. We all loved them!"
Barbara Lloyd, Link4Life, Rochdale Boroughwide Cultural Trust, 2009.

"Curious Cargo entice you into their extraordinary world with grace, humour and a touch of anarchy. The Lost Luggage Porters created an intriguing and poignant experience which mesmerised our audiences.
Accessible and high quality both shows were hugely popular with people of all ages and the company were a joy to work with - positive, professional and fun".
Julie Tait, Director, Kendal Arts International (WoW, Lakes Alive & Mintfest)

"An utterly enchanting show, I didn't want it to stop" member of the public, Garden of Delights Festival.

"On Sunday (27 August) I wandered into the Liverpool World Museum with my god-daughter and caught the last few moments of a wonderful mime act, which I'm told was your Curious Cargo show. I just wanted to write and say that the show looked wonderful! The costumes, make-up and mime were perfect, and the whole concept was really magical - as if the actors had walked straight out of a 1900's film - brilliant stuff!" K.Simmons (by email)

"Educational, entertaining, inventive and a joy for all the family" member of the public, Sheffield Snooker Festival.

"It certainly brightened up my shopping experience", member of the public, Worcester Street Festival.

"Curious Cargo performed the Lost Luggage Porters, which was very well received by staff and visitors in the gallery. I was extremely impressed with the engaging quality of Curious Cargo with our visitors, and their attention to artistic detail and their creativity". Zoe Renilson, Family Programmes Manager, Manchester City Galleries.

Visit the curious cargo gallery and video clips to view images from a range of performances.
The following shows will be appearing in 2010:


The Temperance Lady (& The Temperance Society)

Is your deportment dreadful? Has your etiquette evaporated? Are your morals meagre or missing? Indeed is your sobriety sodden with sin? Then never fear, a Victorian lady is here, to help you mend your ways. She's frightfully proper, sombre and stern, with a terribly stiff upper lip. She'll dust down your decorum, straighten your backbone, and sort out your p's from your q's! A whirlwind of petticoats, a crinolinned crusader; she's the model of virtue you need!

Available as a one person walkabout show: "The Temperance Lady", (a crinolinned crusader); or a two person walkabout show: "The Temperance Society", (the crinolinned crusader & cravatted campaigner).

The Temperance Lady has been inspired & adapted from the 'Campaigner' character created for Manchester Art Gallery's 'Art Treasures' & 'Work', & has been very much enjoyed by members of the public in and around the gallery. The 'Temperance Lady's' first solo gig was to act as 'hostess' & 'chaperone' for a Singles Night put on by Manchester Art Gallery!

Quotes about The Temperance Lady (& The Temperance Society):

"Curious Cargo supply a truly professional and enjoyable working experience. The expertise and passion they have brought to projects has been inspiring."
Emma Carroll, Senior Manager Schools and Colleges, Manchester City Galleries

"Curious cargo is a joy to work with: their creativity, skills and enthusiasm always shine through."
Alex Woodall, Interpretation Development Officer, Manchester City Galleries

Visit the Manchester City Art Gallery website
Visit the curious cargo gallery and video clips to view images from a range of performances.

Busy Lizzy - The Flower Woman

Meadow sweet and balmy in both scent and nature meet this colourful wayfarer as she journeys on through the garden of life. She's a woman with flower power from long, long ago, and though ancient she maybe, going to seed she certainly is not. So weed out your woes and partake of her wildflowers and wise words, rituals and remedies, and befuddlement and bemusement. Lift your gloom with a bloom, calm your hysteria with wisteria, snore no more with herbivore, learn to chuckle with honeysuckle, and find your power in a flower! Her bloom is everlasting for you'll forget-her-not!

A delightful puppet walkabout show featuring the 'ancient flower woman puppet Busy Lizzie', carrying her cargo of flowers & foliage and interacting with the public.

Commissioned Shows:

Trade Super Troopers

The Super Troopers were created as the result of an 'Awards for All grant' which funded a safe sex project instigated and managed by Trade Sexual Health, (the gay and bisexual sexual health charity for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland). Through a series of workshops, facilitated by Tess Hills and Carrie English, the project participants experienced a range of drama games and exercises and from this devised & developed their superhero characters & performance pieces. In the run up to World AIDS Day 2008 the Super Troopers performed on a number of occasions in the city centre's gay venues, spreading the word about safer sex with practical sexual health advice and urging the audience to always 'Rip, Roll & Ride'!

Quote about Trade Super Troopers:

"In the wake of the Super Heroes Night, Trade received a huge amount of positive feedback for the project, which was held to be a massive success. Personal evaluations showed that each team member applied to be a Super Trooper with a different aim in mind; from giving something back to the community, to simply meeting new people. In each case, the individuals thought that the project had helped them to achieve those goals." Trade project evaluation.

"Thankyou for making the Trade Super Troopers a success". Sal Khalifa, Trade.

"It was really fun and informative working with Trade and Curious Cargo. What surprised me is that I've actually become more confident as a result of the workshops. I've had a great time, and learnt a lot about safer sex. I hope it's been as useful to the LGBTQ community in Leicester as it's been for us". Super Trooper participant.

"I couldn't put on a condom before. I unrolled it and tried to put it on like a pillowcase. Now I know how to 'Rip, Roll & Ride' safely!" "I loved every minute of it. Would jump at the chance of doing it again."
The two teachers were absolutely great." "My confidence has blossomed". "Through the workshops with Curious Cargo we developed an exciting new approach to creative volunteering. It's been great to see people from different age groups and backgrounds working together to promote sexual health in the gay community in such a fresh and exciting way."
Sal Khalifa, Trade Sexual Health Operations Manager Trade Super Troopers:

NHS Pride Nurses '1960s Nurses'

Costumes by Charlotte Newsome

This street theatre piece was created as part of the NHS float & parade entry for Manchester Pride 2008. Curious Cargo performers (Tess Hills, Carrie English & Jana Kennedy) collaborated with float & costume designer Charlotte Newsome to bring about these larger than life characters: nit nurse 'Nurse Poppit', sexual health nurse 'Nurse Scratchit', and dental nurse 'Nurse Yankit', to animate the space around the float & interact with the crowds along the route. Diagnosis's were made, prescriptions given & treatments delivered to the unsuspecting audience!

Manchester Art Gallery Art Treasures (BAFTA nominated website)

Photos by Sharon Tait

Manchester Art Gallery commissioned Curious Cargo performers, Julian Waite & Tess Hills, to create a piece of strolling theatre inspired by the painting 'Work' by Pre Raphaelite painter Ford Maddox Brown. Our brief was initially to develop two characters, the Campaigner and the Navvy, for a walkabout show to be performed in and around the art gallery for the opening of the 'Art Treasures' exhibition, and for regular performances for the duration of the exhibition. We were then asked to further our research and develop an additional four characters from the painting which are featured on the gallery's interactive website. The Campaigner character has since been further developed into 'The Temperance Lady' & 'Temperance Society' street theatre show.

"Curious Cargo supply a truly professional and enjoyable working experience. The expertise and passion they have brought to projects has been inspiring.
It was a delight to work with Curious Cargo to develop the character of the Temperance Lady and Navvy found in Ford Maddox Brown's Art work 'Work'. Tess & Julian had a real understanding of the needs of the project and the audience for the characters. Their thorough research, attention to detail and will to make the a success of the project resulted in a script and performance that was truly memorial."
Emma Carroll, Senior Manager Schools and Colleges, Manchester City Galleries

"Curious cargo is a joy to work with: their creativity, skills and enthusiasm always shine through. It was fantastic (and great fun!) to work with Tess Hills and Julian Waite on the development of characters from Ford Madox Brown's Work interactive at Manchester Art Gallery which was nominated for a Children's BAFTA award in 2008. They researched a variety of different characters, created monologues for them, and developed their personalities into a promenade performance for the temperance campaigner and navvy in the gallery. I would have no hesitation in recommending Curious Cargo!"
Alex Woodall, Interpretation Development Officer, Manchester City Galleries

The Manchester City Art Gallery education departments creation of the Ford Maddox Brown 'Work' website was nominated for a BAFTA Children's Award in the Primary Learning category: Visit the BAFTA site

Manchester Art Gallery Masked Curator & Caretaker

The Education Department at Manchester Art Gallery asked Curious Cargo to create 2 masked characters and devise an interactive performance piece in and around the gallery setting. Children visiting the gallery 'happened' upon these characters as they went about their daily jobs in the gallery …… soon the children were involved in unpacking art works, curating an exhibition, and trying to work out how on earth to install the work ….. and throughout this interaction all communication by the masked character was non-verbal.