Splinters Theatre of Spectacle was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n Performance Troupe formed in Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

 in 1985 by David Branson

David Branson

David Branson was an Australian theatre director, actor, and writer.David Branson's father John was an Antarctic scientist, and his mother Margaret a school librarian. Branson attended Hackett Primary School, Watson High, and Dickson College in Canberra...

, Patrick Troy, Ross Cameron, and John Utans, that was known for large outdoor spectacles. Between 1985 and 1996, Splinters produced more than 20 works that played at Australian theatre festivals. In 1992, they produced Cathedral of Flesh which won the Best Promenade Theatre Performance Award, at the Adelaide Fringe Festival

Adelaide Fringe Festival

The Adelaide Fringe Festival is an arts festival held annually in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. The event is the Southern Hemisphere's largest arts event and the second-largest fringe festival in the world, second in size only to the Edinburgh Fringe...

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Splinters evolved through a collective of writers, musicians, visual and performance artists creating loosely related skits and scenes, into a multi-format art concept production company. Working in a variety of venues with hundreds of artists Splinters produced displays all around Australia. Their offices were situated in the Gorman House Arts Centre in Canberra.

Utilising techniques of theatre, dance, performance art, puppetry

Puppetry

Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects...

, pyrotechnics

Pyrotechnics

Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...

, sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

, music, and crowd manipulation, Splinters performed one-offs, seasons, exhibitions, and events. Several performance and event groups gained momentum under the Splinters banner before launching their own companies including: Snuff Puppets

Snuff Puppets

Snuff Puppets is an Australian puppet theatre company that was founded in 1992.Originating in Canberra as part of Splinters Theatre of Spectacle, Snuff Puppets moved to a dusty warehouse in the industrial working class suburb of Footscray in Melbourne, and are now based in the historic Footscray...

, ODD Productions, Temple State, Triclops

Triclops

Triclops can refer to:*Tri-Klops, a character in the Masters of the Universe toyline.*A character in the Jedi Prince series of Star Wars novels....

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Splinters' first performance This Fantastic Lake in 1985 at the Downer Community Hall, Canberra was funded by International Youth Year. In 1988, Splinters received a grant from the Capital Arts Patrons Organisation. After several national and rural tours funded by the Australia Council's Performing Arts Board, the last performance under the Splinters aegis was Orpheus at Gorman House, Canberra in 1997. In 2001, speaking at the Legislative Assembly for the ACT about the death of David Branson, the Australian Minister for Urban Services and Minister for the Arts called Splinters "one of the most innovative groups in Canberra's quite illustrious history of arts practice."