Mary French creates magical worlds with light, shadow and puppetry, often working with communities to explore local stories, environments and the places they call home.

Across Victoria, Mary has collaborated with schools, artists and communities affected by fire and drought, helping people tell their stories through imaginative, hands-on creative projects. Her work has included projects with the Royal Children’s Hospital Mental Health Unit and Flock, a collaboration with Strange Fruit in Horsham, where 160 articulated bird puppets were created by students from nine Wimmera schools.

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In 2009, Mary transformed Natimuk’s rotunda into a giant lantern and shadow-play space in Lantunda. The idea has since travelled, with festivals, councils and schools creating their own lantern-like performance spaces under Mary’s guidance. She later developed Travelling Lantunda, a portable projection tent.

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Following her studies at the Theatre of Light and Shadow in Germany, Mary has continued to experiment with immersive projection, puppetry and shadow theatre. Her projects include The Weirdest Day, an intimate shadow performance inside a black inflatable room, and Fabulous Beasts, an animated projection project connecting communities across three shires to explore endangered and extinct local species.

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For the Natimuk Arts Trail, Mary invites you to step into the world of shadow play, where light, movement and imagination transform simple shapes into something unexpected. Join her for the Shadow Lab Workshop. Free and drop in between 2-4 on Saturday 31st October.

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MEDIUM: Workshop - Shadow Lab

STUDIO ADDRESS: Main Hall - Natimuk Soldiers Memorial Hall

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