Our Talent Team 

Daniel G. Jarrett - Creator, Sculptor, Writer, Director...

From early life in his native New Zealand, Dan was intrigued by his cousin’s theatre of Marionettes but any idea of pursuing the interest was swept aside in his early teens as dreams of becoming an singer prevailed.  For years singing lessons and competitions led to performances in local operatic societies, hotels, recitals, weddings, funerals and music hall before the ultimate decision to abandon the idea and pursue a corporate career instead.

In his late 20’s he experimented perfecting techniques to create waxworks (like Madame Tussauds) with a dream of one day opening up a wax museum in Auckland. Following some life changing events, including seeing performances of The Australian Opera in Auckland, he decided to move closer to where he could see regular performances and moved to Sydney, leaving a cupboard full of wax heads at his parents’ home.

Caught up in the corporate life of Sydney, but always maintaining a keen interest in music, theatre and the arts, he turned to his writing skills as a form of creative outlet. His first effort- a play of the life of Madame Tussaud’s nearly made it to the British stage at the time of the French Bi-centenary, but was abandoned when too close to time, no venue was available.

Only in later years in his mid fifties, did the dream of creating (perhaps) a touring puppet show materialise – “a sort of return to my childhood” he explains.  “Like many things, puppetry has become so sophisticated these days, the sheer delight of the original craft has been almost lost and many people have never even seen it. I decided it was time to get away from the corporate world and indulge some of my creative skills instead- perhaps open up a new chapter in the final years of my life and also some new worlds- and so “The Grandan Puppets” was born”.

The association with friend, Chris Walker (see below) and the decision to become the world’s first ongoing puppet show online, Dan counts as one of the most exciting ventures he has ever done.

“I think the time is right- people need a laugh these days and with the technology allowing us to reach an unlimited audience- who knows where The Grandan Puppets will go?” he says. “All I know is, I’m going to enjoy indulging my creative side for a while- beyond that- who knows?”

Judy Burnett - Designer/ Puppet Costumier

Judy’s expertise in creating Hollywood costumes is legendary. Creating every type of stage creation for numerous entertainers, to spectacular bridal gowns, or costuming other puppets for other puppetry troupes, Judy has done the lot!

Little wonder her talent and insights with particular attention to detail comes from firsthand experience as a principal performer herself, in Sydney’s legendary “Carousel Show” which entertained thousands of patrons over a period started in the 60’s running well into the 80’s in Sydney’s famous tourist Mecca, Kings Cross.

Queenie is just one of the many puppets in our show that is a perfect example of Judy’s considerable talents and attention to detail.

Chris Walker - Entrepreneur, Internet Producer, Website Creator

With his company "March Digital" and an extensive career with website development, television production, cartoon animation and marketing innovations, Chris has developed some extraordinary skills making him one of the most sought after website creators in the country. He has been responsible for some of Australia's most successful and significant websites winning many awards. Along with "special projects" that included a long association doing technical work for the Wiggles, Chris today has his own studios where he employs cutting edge technologies and works on a variety of special projects. It is, therefore, no surprise that has been chosen to be the technical force behind The Grandan Puppets - the first puppet show in the world to go online performing regular weekly shows.