Blacklight puppetry is one of our favourite forms of theatre. The fluorescent glow on stage beams from the puppets while puppeteers hidden in the darkness manipulates the object which adds an element of magic and life-like movement to the story.

This creates and immersive world; easy to get lost in a dream-like wonderland.

Innovative blacklight theatre is a delicate process and requires a trained fluorescent painter. The fluorescent painter paints the puppets under blacklight to ensure proper colour pigmentation. If you were to paint fluorescent paint in regular lighting, it will impact the desired colour outcome when used under blacklight theatre. To ensure the quality and integrity of the colour, it must be painted under the special UV-blacklight.

At Mermaid Theatre, we have a studio space dedicated to painting under blacklight - which is unique. Did you ever think Mermaid’s process was so complex? Immense amount of design and detail goes into a single puppet or prop used in our blacklight live stage adaptations.

Have you seen another blacklight theatre production? Let us know!