The Sharmanka Kinetic Gallery is a theatre of kinetic sculpture, where hundreds of carved figures and pieces of old scrap perform an incredible choreography to haunting music and synchronised light, telling the humorous and tragic stories of the human spirit as it struggles against the relentless circles of life and death. Its style has been described as "Heath Robinson meets Hieronymus Bosch". It is a collaboration between sculptor-mechanic Eduard Bersudsky, theatre director Tatyana Jakovskaya, and light and sound designer Sergey Jakovsky. The word "sharmanka" (шарманка) is Russian for hurdy-gurdy or barrel-organ.
Sharmanka was founded in St Petersburg in 1989 and based in Glasgow since 1995. It was exhibited at Eretz Israel Museum in Tel-Aviv, Edinburgh Royal Museum, London Theatre Museum, Manchester City Art Gallery, McLellan Galleries, Glasgow, Museum Speelklok, Utrecht, as well as at science and technology museums in Granada, Jerusalem, Switzerland and Copenhagen, performed at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2008, London International Mime Festival in 2002 and 2009.
Miss F | Feb 19, 2018
Visually stunning and an absolutely amazing thing to see. Quite the hidden treasure. This is far from your average show; very reasonable admission fee and the most welcoming staff! Absolutely blown away from start to finish.
Claire Dunn | Dec 18, 2017
A must see! This fantastic kinetic theatre is one of my favorite things to see in Glasgow. The sculptures are set off and come to life with there movement, lighting and music. I recommend going to the longer show as you get to see more of the sculptures (some are getting quite fragile so they are only turned on a couple of times a week at the longer shows). Every time I go to Sharmanka I am transported by the theater to another world. It is a really magical show with humour in there too. Wheelchairs... go for it. :) it is a bit of a squeeze but every time I have been here people have been very kind and accommodating to everyone. It is good to let them know though. There is a wee comments box when you book your tickets on line so you can tell them their or you can just give them a ring to let them know. Tickets... book! It is not unlikely that they will be fully booked so I recommend that you book your tickets on line. Subway... It's easy to get there on the subway. Just get off at St. Enoch station go up to Argyle St. Turn right and it's about 5 min along that road on the right hand side.
daniel neacsu | Jan 24, 2018
Very creepy and weird (which is a plus). Also it was an interesting experience to have to follow the statues when they would start moving. For one of those you had to actually follow the sound of it ringing a bell which was very awesome and different. Loved it
Declan Curtin | Feb 25, 2018
Such an interesting place. Leaves an impact. Worth the time/money
Nic Nei | Mar 4, 2018
Inventive. Innovative. Interesting. Must see.
Peter Reid | Apr 5, 2018
Quite stunning -- unlike anything else you'll have seen. Complex moving mechanical sculptures, full of intricate details, and suffused with a dark, melancholic Russian humour. Beautifully lit and choreographed. It's worth booking the longer show, to see all of the pieces. Probably not suitable for under 12.
Mekenq | Mar 24, 2018
Breathtaking, eerie, mesmerising and creepy... An astonishing set of creations from an incredible imagination. Has to be seen to be believed.
Toni Halonen | Jun 19, 2018
Very creative and personal... A variety of marionette like machines (that isn't a good description, sorry) move and make sounds to compliment a variety of musical pieces. It sort of reminded me of the movie Coraline but 100x better!
Craig Cantwell | May 26, 2018
Weird, wacky and wonderful. Definitely worth a visit but I recommend the 1hr show. We went to the 40minute show and didn't see the older pieces in action. Definitely a hidden gem based on the 1st floor of a council building in Trongate
Kristen Halonen | Jun 14, 2018
Very interesting and thought provoking experience. Definitely recommend for people who enjoy art and love interpreting it!
Mick Clark | Aug 11, 2018
What fun we had. Well worth a visit
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