British puppet and mixed media theatre company founded in 1965 in Cardiff by Jane Phillips (b.1936). Twenty years after its foundation, well established as one of the leading companies of Great Britain, the decision was taken by the Welsh Arts Council to withdraw all subsidy, forcing it to close. Caricature presented, under the direction of Jane Phillips, a wide repertoire of work both for adults and children. The shows were normally large-scale, combining actors, masks and puppets and manifesting a generous diversity of techniques and means of expression. Designers and directors were often invited to collaborate.

Most of the productions were for the live theatre, but there were certain commissions for television, notably a black theatre and rod puppet version of The Pilgrim’s Progress (1967) by John Bunyan (1628-1688). Worthy of mention among the many productions were: Culhwch and Olwen (from the Celt medieval legends of Y Mabinogion, 1965 and 1980); Taith y Pererin (The Pilgrim’s Progress, 1967), also broadcast by BBC television; The Rose and the Ring (1970) by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1883); Panache (1972); The Scribble Kids (1974 and 1982); The Phantom Tollbooth (1976); Me and My Bike (1978), a libretto for a television opera by Dylan Thomas (1911-1953); Pippi Longstocking (1978); The Overcoat (1980), directed by Christopher Leith, and An Edwardian Family Album (1981).

(See Great Britain.)