Toby Olié

Toby is a director, designer and performer who trained in puppetry at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

As Gyre & Gimble, work includes: co-director/puppet designer of The Four Seasons: A Reimagining (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Hartlepool Monkey (UK tour) and The Elephantom (National Theatre & West End). As well as co-designer/director of puppetry for The Grinning Man (Bristol Old Vic & West End) and Running Wild (Chichester Festival Theatre, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre & UK Tour).

Other work includes: puppetry designer/director of Pinocchio, Peter Pan, The Light Princess and Hansel & Gretel (National Theatre), Don Quixote (Royal Shakespeare Company), Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Royal Ballet), The Wind in the Willows (Royal Opera House & West End), Disney’s new staging of The Little Mermaid (in Holland, Moscow & Tokyo), The Secret Garden (Sarasota Ballet), Little Shop of Horrors (Manchester Royal Exchange), Goodnight Mister Tom (UK tour & West End) and A Christmas Carol, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Firework-Maker’s Daughter and Peter Pan (Chichester Festival Theatre).

He was the hind puppeteer of Joey in the original production of War Horse (National Theatre) before moving to Joey’s head for the subsequent West End transfer. On leaving the show as a performer he was made an associate puppetry director. Other work as a puppeteer includes: Venus and Adonis (Royal Shakespeare Company), National Theatre: 50 Years on Stage (BBC One), The Homeless Polar Bear (Greenpeace campaign film), Mongrels (BBC Three), Hospitalworks (Theatre-Rites) and Angelo (Little Angel Theatre).

Toby has taught and lectured at a number of institutions including: Barbican, Bristol Festival of Puppetry, Chichester Festival Theatre, Curious School of Puppetry, National Theatre Learning, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Victoria & Albert Museum and Wimbledon School of Art. He also hosted his own puppet making segment on Blue Peter, earning a silver Blue Peter badge in the process.