AN internationally acclaimed puppet company whose unconventional shows first played to audiences on the beaches of Pembrokeshire will be back on home soil next month to perform at the Pembroke Festival.

Green Ginger's hilarious 65-minute spoof of Mary Shelley's classic novel, 'Frank Einstein', has enjoyed a sell-out run at the Jim Henson International Festival of Puppet Theatre in New York.

When the company was asked to perform at the inaugural Pembroke Festival, co-founders, Terry Lee and Chris Pirie, were delighted.

The company has its origins in Tenby where Terry still lives. It was on the beaches of Tenby and Saundersfoot that Terry and Chris first thrilled audiences with their ingenious puppetry. The script for 'Frank Einstein Born to be Wired' is their joint collaboration.

Chris lived in Tenby for eight years and is now based in Bristol. The Pembroke Festival, he said, would form part of the company's 25th anniversary tour.

"It will be a great opportunity to perform in Pembrokeshire again," he said.

The show employs both ancient and modern techniques and devices. Strobes and pyrotechnics nestle amongst shadow puppetry, while a vast array of other optical and audio effects assist in the delivery of this fast-moving tale.

Green Ginger premiered the original production at Cardiff's Sherman Theatre in 1993. Presented as the first in a trilogy of irreverent revisions of famous literary works, the show went on to become one of the company's most popular and populist productions. It has since been performed at venues all over the world, including New York, Montreal and Toulouse.

Pembroke Festival will run from September 5 to 14. Green Ginger will give two performances at Pembroke Town Hall on Friday, September 12, at 1.45 pm and 7.30 pm.

Tickets costing £7.50 for adults and £6 concessions are available from Pembroke Bookshop. Special concessionary prices are available for parties of school children aged eight and over. Contact Brian Griffiths on 01646 683311 or telephone 672890.