Welcome!
Who Am I?
Glad you asked. I am an experienced actor, puppeteer and musician based in Penzance. I have a friendly and informal performance style, deft improvisational skills and a gently subversive sense of humour - which delights adults as well as children.
From 1999 - 2017 I was a member of Cornwall’s renowned Kneehigh Theatre, performing in major national and international tours such as Tristan & Yseult, Cymbeline, Don John, A Matter Of Life And Death and The Bacchae, as well as small-scale village hall shows, including directing and acting in Journey To The Centre Of The Earth.
Last word...
I am currently a member of The Minack Theatre Company, recently appearing in The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch, The Railway Children and The Secret Garden.
I also appeared in Alaska from Blackfish Theatre, One Darke Night from o-region theatre, the film Tin (dir. Bill Scott) and the short Cornish language films An Jowl Yn Agas Kegin (dir.Brett Harvey) and KoninHa Pryv (dir. Laura Hardman). I have also created and directed several theatre performances for The Eden Project, Cornwall.
I spent many years as a professional street performer, appearing at The Millennium Dome, Glastonbury Festival, Manchester Street Arts Festival, Leeds Streets Ahead, Cowes Week Isle of Wight and festivals in Holland, Belgium and the USA.
My aim with Squashbox Theatre is to create shows that are funny, friendly, surprising, inspiring, unusual, informative (and a little bit mischievous!), and which use traditional puppetry and storytelling skills in an exciting and innovative way. (And did I mention funny?)
All Squashbox performances celebrate nature, science, generosity, tolerance and diversity, employing a wholly secular view of this astounding and beautiful world around us.
Hello there!
Welcome to the ingenious, ridiculous, inspiring, surprising, comical, musical, educational, ecological world of Squashbox Theatre.
My name is Craig Johnson and I am a performer, musician and puppeteer living in Penzance, Cornwall.
As a solo artist I perform under the name Squashbox Theatre, creating marvellous, quirky and inventive shows incorporating puppetry, storytelling, natural history, live music and comedy.
I created Squashbox Theatre in 2007 with the aim of providing quality entertainment for children and families in Cornwall. Since then my shows (The Sea Show, Skillywidden, Stones And Bones, Curious Creatures, Tales from the Trees, Myths and Monsters, The Christmassy Christmas Show, Shivers and Shadows and Universarama!) have been performed at schools, theatres, festivals and events from Cornwall to Kendal and from Exeter to Essex, including TEN sell-out summer seasons at the famous Minack Theatre near Land’s End.
Book now for your theatre, arts centre, school, festival, village hall or event!
"Craig's success lies in the fact that he talks to, rather than at, his young audience while involving them in the action as far as he possibly can, and he does it all with a huge sense of joy and fun that is as inspiring as it is infectious. An engaging entertainer to be treasured."
Frank Ruhrmund, The Cornishman newspaper
“Johnson's natural rapport and good humoured fun with the young people make this an absolute celebration of all that is good about theatre for children.”
Petra Schofield, Whatsonstage.com
"Just the right balance of humour, fun, wit and education. Keep up the excellent work, you are a true talent and the kids really appreciate you"
Audience feedback, Minack Theatre
"Craig Johnson is a consummate actor of rare skills. Totally at ease with his audience - adult and child alike - he combines an innate understanding and delight in storytelling with fantastic comic and musical skill."
Mike Shepherd, Founder and Company Director Kneehigh Theatre
News
2020... Not quite going as planned
Well, another busy year for Squashbox Theatre was beckoning, and then... a global pandemic comes along and ruins it for everybody.
Like many people in the arts, I am struggling with cancelled work and the closure of venues, but I will still be performing shows over the summer and autumn at outdoor venues such as the Minack, and indoor venues with social distancing in place.
Hopefully things will be getting back to normal at
some point, and despite everything I'm still aware of how lucky I am compared to the thousands of people who have fallen ill or died from this horrible virus.
Take care and stay safe.
Autumn Performance Dates
Sat 19th Sept
11am - Stones and Bones
Village Hall, Martinstown, Dorchester, Dorset
Sat 19th Sept
4pm - Stones and Bones
Village Hall, Sandford Orcas, Sherborne, Dorset
Sat 24th Oct
2pm & 7pm - Shivers and Shadows
Acorn Theatre, Penzance, Cornwall
Tues 27th Oct
2pm - Shivers and Shadows
Canterbury Festival, Canterbury, Kent
Fri 30th Oct
11.30am & 2.30pm - Shivers and Shadows
South Mill Arts, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire
MORE DATES COMING SOON!!!
