World renowned awarding-winning Australian artist Tim Sharp’s colourful superhero Laser Beak Man will be brought to life on stage in an eye-popping theatrical extravaganza described as “part puppet show, part pop rock concert” at Arts Centre Melbourne from 19 – 21 September, 2019.

Dead Puppet Society’s theatrical powerhouse boasts an all-star creative line-up helmed by Artistic Director David Morton, Executive Producer Nicholas Paine and Sharp himself, with original music from Ball Park Music front man Sam Cromack and design by Helpmann Award winner Jonathon Oxlade.

Laser Beak Man is based on the drawings of Queensland artist Tim Sharp, who has autism, and has won fans from around the world with his unique sense of humour and happy and very original art. Sharp created the character Laser Beak Man when he was 11 years old to show the world his sense of humour and his original way of looking at life. Since then his work has been exhibited internationally, inspired a eight-part animated series on the Cartoon Network, has been the subject of the numerous documentaries and a book, Double Shot of Happiness as well as appearing as a motivational speaker with his mother Judy.

“From the beginning, we fell in love with the world that Tim created for Laser Beak Man: its quirky sensibility, bright colours, fantastical nature and visual puns, “ says Dead Puppet Society Executive Producer Nicholas Paine.

“We’re excited to highlight the intricacies of his creation alongside our own storytelling and aesthetic to make Tim’s hilarious drawings three-dimensional on stage. We believe that both Tim’s personal story of living with autism and that of Laser Beak Man deserve global celebration.”

The stage adaptation is jam-packed with his trademark visual witticisms and kaleidoscopic characters brought to life by seven actors, more than 35 original puppets, including fully-functional 3D puppets, Dead Puppet Society’s trademark form-pushing animations and an infectious live soundtrack by Ball Park Music’s Sam Cromack.

Local hero Laser Beak Man works hard to maintain Power City’s reputation as the most beautiful city in the world. Drawing energy from the underground Magna Crystals that power the City, his beak has the ability to shoot lasers that turn bad to good. That is until Peter Bartman, evil genius and Laser Beak Man’s estranged childhood friend, steals the Magna Crystals, robbing our colourful superhero of his powers.

Dead Puppet Society creates puppet-based, visual theatre in Australia and the United States. Uniting an old world aesthetic with cutting edge technical elements the company conjure immersive worlds where the mythic sits alongside the macabre, and the old school meets the technological. Laser Beak Man is the company’s biggest undertaking to date, developed transnationally over four years including a development Off-Broadway at the New Victory Theatre; New York City’s oldest theatre in the heart of Times Square.

Arts Centre Melbourne and Australian Music Vault present  

Laser Beak Man
By David Morton, Nicholas Paine and Tim Sharp
With music from Sam Cromack (Ball Park Music)

19 – 21 September 2019

Thursday 19 September – 7pm
Friday 20 September – 7pm
Saturday 21 September – 1pm & 7pm

Book: artscentremelbourne.com.au or 1300 182 183

A Dead Puppet Society, La Boite and Brisbane Festival production in association with PowerArts 

Access Information

Auslan interpreted performance: Friday 20 September, 7pm
Relaxed Performance : Saturday 21 September, 1pm
Captioned Performance: Saturday 21 September, 7pm
Audio Described Performance: Saturday 21 September, 7pm
Tactile Tour: Saturday 21 September, 5.30pm (bookings required)