I never expected I'd actually do this!

NATALIE BANYARD speaks to Bristol's legendary puppeteer and performer Dik Downey about his incredible career and his unique new take on Spanish classic, Don Quixote

- NATALIE BANYARD

BRISTOL'S master puppeteer, clown, and visual artist Dik Downey is back with his new puppetry and clowning epic, Don Quixote (is a very big book).

Dik started his performing life at Glastonbury Festival in 1983, painted yellow and playing kazoo, while someone lay on a bed of broken cornflakes. Over four decades and many phenomenal shows later, his new one-man production interweaves reflections on his personal journey as a performer with Miguel de Cervantes' classic, Don Quixote.

Playing at The Wardrobe Theatre from October 7 to 18, the show brings together a rogue's gallery of puppets as Quixote embarks on surreal, comic misadventures, accompanied by his wisecracking sidekick, Sancho Panza, and his decrepit horse, Rocinante.

Dik intertwines Don Quixote's humorous delusions with his own struggle against time. As ageing knight-errant Quixote chases his impossible dreams of glory, audiences also see Dik face his own dwindling relevance and his mortality.

Presented by Opposable Thumb Theatre (Coulrophobia, Big Boys Don't Cry) and Norway's Nordland Visual Theatre, Don Quixote (is a very big book) combines extraordinary puppetry, an exceptional soundtrack, and beautiful atmospheric lighting, with laugh-out-loud moments and mad reflections on the joys and indignities of growing old and fighting against the inevitable.

Anyone involved in Bristol's vibrant arts scene will know Dik and his work with theatre companies Green Ginger, Pickled Image and Opposable Thumb Theatre, as well as his involvement with The Bristol Festival of Puppetry, and Puppet Place - Bristol Harbourside's thriving community of 22 creative makers working in or around the puppetry industry.

Dik has been performing and making since leaving school at 18, thrilling audiences around the globe with his beautifully crafted, innovative, funny and anarchic work.