Squashbox Theatre

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.

For the last 17 years I have been 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 also recently 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.

"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

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 and Universarama!) have been performed at schools, theatres, festivals and events from Cornwall to Kendal and from Exeter to Essex, including six 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!

Scroll down the page to see my latest show dates for 2020!

"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

News

Happy 2020!!!

Another busy year for Squashbox Theatre beckons...

Lots of dates are already in the diary, and I will be adding more as they come in!

Check out all my performance dates below!

I will also be performing in the annual Minack Theatre Company production during the Easter holidays. This year it's the fabulous 'Hetty Feather' by Jacqueline Wilson. All the details are here:

https://www.minack.com/book/?bookid=1512

If you've seen my new show Tales from the Trees and enjoyed hearing my new song 'Quietly Saving the World', you can hear it again here!

Quietly Saving the World - Squashbox Theatre

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