WATCH: MTYP's "Star Keeper" captures the imagination of youngsters

Everybody loves a puppet. And there will be no fewer than 30 puppets and marionettes on stage at Manitoba Theatre for Young People. The final production of the season is called Star Keeper and it runs until April 22nd.

The play tells the story of a character named Pretzel and his attempt to return a fallen star.
In the course of his journey he encounters a tap-dancing spider, a family of picnicking seahorses and many more fanciful characters. The marionettes and table puppets range in size from miniscule to larger than life.

This is a touring production of Montreal's Théatre de l"Oeil, or Theatre of the Eye. Since it's creation in 1997 Star Keeper has been performed more than 600 times in Canada, the U.S. German, France Mexico, Korea and Japan.

Puppeteer Graham Soul has performed with the company since day one. He says "one reason it's been able to tour everywhere is because it's a show without words. The characters talk, but they talk in invented languages, sort of like 'bishkabibble'."

"To our surprise, the show seems to have universal appeal. And the reactions are not necessarily very different anywhere. People seem to react the same way to the show, whether it's Japan or here in Winnipeg."

The play has also won numerous awards, including the Chalmers Canadian Play Award, Theatre for Young Audiences.