A true tale of love and transition told through the story of Pinocchio.
In this hybrid of theatre and film, shot and edited all in one take, you are invited to go behind the scenes of Cade & MacAskill’s creative process and their relationship, and question what it takes to tell your truth.
Artists and lovers Rosana Cade and Ivor MacAskill have been creating The Making of Pinocchio since 2018, alongside and in response to Ivor’s gender transition. In this digital edition of the work, their tender and complex autobiographical experience meets the magical story of the lying puppet who wants to be a ‘real boy’.
With an ingenious scenography designed by Tim Spooner, layered with sound by Yas Clarke, lights by Jo Palmer and cinematography from Kirstin McMahon, the show employs split-screen, forced perspective and intimate close ups to constantly shift between between fantasy and authenticity, humour and intimacy, on stage and on screen.
The Making of Pinocchio joyfully embraces the importance of imagination in queer worldmaking and the idea of transness as a state of possibility that can trouble fixed perspectives and inspire change.
The Making of Pinocchio is currently touring as a live performance. Find out more about the live performance
Nominated for the Off West End Awards’ Best IDEA Production (IDEA: Innovative / Devised / Experiential / Atypical)
★★★★ ‘The wondrous trans tale of Pinocchio… A funny, clever and thoughtful two-hander, rich in playful imagery and direct-to-camera asides, about identity, definition and acceptance… The satire is gentle, but the politics are clear.’
The Guardian
★★★★ ‘More than anything, The Making of Pinocchio testifies to an evolving, continually transforming love between partners, a love for making things and oneself.’
The Stage
‘It was so beautiful, and such deft balancing of things for trans audiences and things for cis ones. Also, I never cry with joy at things but I did at the ending of it, and I’m crying now thinking about it… it was just so beautiful… a very joyful watch… and such deft balancing of things for trans audiences and things for cis ones… it’s so rare.’
Audience response
| Date | Title | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 May 2024 | The Making of Pinocchio: Digital Edition | The Segal Theatre Center | New York |
| 10–11 May 2023 | The Making of Pinocchio | Auawirleben Theaterfestival | Bern |
| 12–13 November 2022 | The Making of Pinocchio | Teatro Nacional Dona Maria II, Alkantara Festival | Lisbon |
| 28 October 2022 | The Making of Pinocchio | Tramway | Glasgow |
| 19–20 October 2022 | The Making of Pinocchio | Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts | Brighton |
| 12–13 October 2022 | The Making of Pinocchio | Midlands Arts Centre, Fierce Festival | Fierce Festival, Birmingham |
| 30 July 2022 | Anything Could Happen Here: The Making of Pinocchio | Heart of Hawick Cinema | Hawick |
| 29 June – 2 July 2022 | The Making of Pinocchio | Battersea Arts Centre, as part of LIFT 2022 | London |
| 29 June – 10 July 2022 | The Making of Pinocchio: Digital Edition | Online via LIFT's website | London |
| 23 May 2022 | The Making of Pinocchio: Digital Edition | Vierte Welt | Berlin |
| 12–14 May 2022 | The Making of Pinocchio: Digital Edition | Kampnagel | |
| 12–14 May 2022 | The Making of Pinocchio | Kampnagel | Hamburg |
| 28 April 2022 | The Making of Pinocchio: Digital Edition | Live Collision International Festival | Dublin |
| 4 March 2022 | The Making of Pinocchio: Digital Edition | Warehouse9 | Copenhagen |
| 21 May 2021 | The Making of Pinocchio | Take Me Somewhere |
