Erth Visual & Physical

What Erth Visual & Physical does

Erth Visual & Physical Inc. is an Australian puppetry-based physical and visual theatre company founded in 1990 by Artistic Director Scott Wright and headquartered in a 2,000sqm warehouse arts precinct called Myrtle Street Studios in Marrickville, NSW. The company designs, builds, and tours large-scale creature puppets, animatronics, inflatable installations, and 360-degree VR experiences across Australia, the USA, the UK, Japan, Singapore, and New Zealand. Its core product portfolio comprises flagship touring shows (Erth's Dinosaurs, Erth's Dinosaur Zoo, Erth's Prehistoric Aquarium, Erth's Prehistoric World, Erth's Shark Dive), participatory works (ARC, Fauna/Soft Forest), First Nations co-developed productions (Liminal Hour/Marri Dyin, I, Bunyip, The Nargun and the Stars), and VR titles (Prehistoric VR, Anthropocene VR). Supporting services include custom puppet builds and commissions for museums and festivals, puppet-making workshops, and rehearsal/studio hire to other arts companies.

The company operates a hybrid go-to-market combining direct-to-consumer ticket sales through erth.com.au, B2B partnerships with major cultural venues (Sydney Opera House, Carriageworks) and festivals (Vivid Sydney, Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival), and commissioned custom builds for institutional clients (Australian Museum, Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, Auckland Museum, Melbourne Zoo). Revenue is diversified across transactional ticket sales, project-based commissions, workshop fees, studio hire (priced at $42–$2,058 + GST per booking), and Australian federal/state arts grants (Creative Australia, Create NSW, City of Sydney). The company is privately held and founder-controlled, with no disclosed external investment.

Erth's core technology is its in-house maker capability — a multidisciplinary studio team of illustrators, sculptors, painters, engineers, and textile artists producing life-sized dinosaur puppets, six-metre illuminated inflatable creatures, and bio-luminescent VR marine environments. Its competitive position rests on 35+ years of accumulated craft IP, a multi-skilled artistic team (puppetry, aerial, stilts, pyrotechnics), and recurring anchor relationships with marquee Australian cultural institutions.

Name

Erth Visual & Physical

Legal name

Erth Visual & Physical Inc.

Website

https://erth.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Erth Visual & Physical is an Australian puppetry-based physical and visual theatre company, founded 1990, that designs, builds, and tours large-scale creature puppets, animatronics, inflatable installations, and VR experiences for families, schools, museums, and festivals worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

Puppetry & Marionette Theatre (MPAGABAK)

Keywords

• Puppetry theatrical productions
• Physical visual theatre
• Large-scale creature puppets
• Puppet making workshops
• Cultural institution commissions

Headquarters

HQ city

Marrickville

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Theatrical Show Ticket Sales: Revenue from touring theatrical productions including Dinosaur Zoo, Prehistoric Aquarium, Shark Dive, Dinosaurs, and other shows performed at venues worldwide.
2. Studio and Rehearsal Space Hire: Myrtle St Studios in Marrickville offers rehearsal space, recording equipment, and studio offices for hire to other artists and arts companies.
3. Puppet-Making Workshops: Puppet-making workshops for various ages and skill levels, including online workshops, school programs, and masterclasses.
4. Commissions and Custom Builds: Design and construction services for partners and clients including museums, festivals, and cultural institutions requiring custom puppets, sets, props, and installations.
5. Government and Private Grants: Funding support from Australian Government through Creative Australia, NSW Government through Create NSW, City of Sydney, and other arts funding bodies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Erth Visual & Physical Inc. creates and tours puppetry-based physical and visual theatrical productions featuring life-sized dinosaurs, prehistoric marine creatures, and large-scale inflatable puppet installations. The company designs and delivers touring shows, virtual reality experiences, educational workshops, custom puppet builds and commissions for cultural institutions, and rents out rehearsal and studio space at its Marrickville arts precinct in Sydney.

Product overview

Erth Visual & Physical Inc. is an Australian puppetry-based theatrical company offering a diverse portfolio of live performances, VR experiences, workshops, and creative services. The core product portfolio includes: live theatrical shows featuring prehistoric creatures (Erth's Dinosaurs, Erth's Dinosaur Zoo, Erth's Prehistoric Aquarium, Erth's Prehistoric World), marine life experiences (Erth's Shark Dive, Fauna/The Nature of Things), Indigenous storytelling productions (Liminal Hour/Marri Dyin, I Bunyip, The Nargun and the Stars), and VR experiences (Prehistoric VR, Anthropocene VR). Supporting services include puppetry workshops, rehearsal/video studio hire, and custom builds/commissions for museum and cultural institution partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Erth's Dinosaur Zoo: Interactive theatrical production featuring dinosaurs and insects with audience participation.
• Erth's Prehistoric Aquarium
• Erth's Dinosaurs
• Erth's Shark Dive
• Fauna / The Nature of Things
• Liminal Hour, Marri Dyin
• ARC
• Erth's Prehistoric World

Products and services

• Erth's Dinosaurs Live theatrical production reimagining Erth's most iconic prehistoric creatures with updated design and immersive storytelling; features life-sized dinosaurs that walk, roar and interact with audiences. Targeted at families and young audiences.
• Fauna / The Nature of Things Interactive outdoor performance featuring Fauna, an enchanting inflatable creature representing ancient mycelium; part performance, part gentle meditation guiding audiences to reflect on connection to nature.
• Erth's Shark Dive Live theatrical experience featuring Australia's iconic sharks through puppetry and immersive staging; face-to-face encounters with marine life from ancient ocean dwellers to present-day species.
• Erth's Dinosaur Zoo Interactive theatrical production featuring a menagerie of insects and dinosaurs including the carnivorous theropod Australovenator; connects young audiences to real science of paleontology through mostly friendly prehistoric creatures. Toured internationally to USA, UK, Japan, New Zealand.
• Erth's Prehistoric Aquarium Theatrical production featuring prehistoric marine reptiles brought to life in a giant aquarium; audiences meet aquatic critters from bygone eras and connect with real paleontology science. Toured internationally.
• Erth's Prehistoric World Combined theatrical experience bringing ancient creatures from land and sea together; audiences discover bio-luminescent ocean creatures and incredible marine reptiles, then witness amazing dinosaurs.
• ARC Scalable participatory theatre work highlighting the mass extinction crisis; features naturalistic critically endangered and extinct animals, led by children who enable transformational engagement with fragile life. Received 2024 Australian national tour.
• Liminal Hour, Marri Dyin Six-metre high spectacular puppet character operated by teams of puppeteers with integrated sound and light design; honors First Nations women including Barangaroo. Presented at Vivid Sydney 2018 and 2019.
• Soft Forest Serene underground escape experience at Paddington Reservoir Gardens featuring Fauna the inflatable puppet; free admission interactive performance commissioned by City of Sydney for Art & About.
• Prehistoric VR Ground-breaking 360-degree VR puppetry experience featuring creatures from Australia's prehistoric past including bioluminescent jellyfish, Anglerfish, Paracyclotosaurus, and Kronosaurus; designed for ages 7+.
• Anthropocene VR Anthology of 6 VR chapters exploring six fables of time, place, beings and interconnections; eco-fairy tales for the future featuring bodies of water, rock, plants, air, creatures. Commissioned by ABC.
• Roving Performances Specialist roving performance service for festivals, streets, and public environments; creatures include dinosaurs, divers, exoskeletons, and turongs for event infiltration.
• Erth Puppetry Workshops Puppet-making workshops for various ages from children to adults; includes foam puppet building, online workshops, and masterclasses in puppet making and manipulation.
• Myrtle St Studios - Rehearsal & Video Studio Hire Affordable 2000sqm warehouse space in Marrickville for artists and arts companies; offers office, creative studio spaces, workshop, meeting rooms, and rehearsal room with technical equipment.
• Builds and Commissions Design and construction services for partners and clients; studio team includes illustrators, sculptors, painters, engineers, textile artists, sound designers; creates puppets, sets, props, costumes for cultural institutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Dinosaur Zoo and Prehistoric Aquarium have toured internationally to USA, UK, Japan, New Zealand, and globally
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Australian MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Development support for Erth's Shark Dive: Live on Stage, developed with support of Australian Museum for Sydney Festival 2023.
• CarriageworkscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Company in residence at Carriageworks, Wilson St Eveleigh. Presented multiple productions and facilitated collaborations including masterclasses.
• Royal Botanic Gardens SydneycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Artists in Residence 2021-2022 at Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Created major exhibition 'Inside the Tide' at the Calyx and delivered education programs.
• Studio AcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Collaboration on Thom Roberts project 'Thom Wants to Dance in Venice' through creative laboratories in Australia and at Societas Raffaello Sanzio studios in Italy. Studio A supports artists with disability.
• ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Commissioned Anthropocene VR project - an anthology of 6 VR chapters exploring eco-fairy tales for the future.
• MandylightscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Artistic collaboration for The Liminal Hour, Marri Dyin featuring world-class puppetry mechanics, sound and light. Partnership combined puppetry, mechanics, sound and light for spectacular showcase of Australian artistic innovation.
• Jacob NashcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Artistic collaboration for The Liminal Hour, Marri Dyin at Vivid Sydney 2018 & 2019, bringing together puppetry mechanics, sound and light design.
• Socìetas Raffaello SanziominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Masterclass program with renowned Italian artist Chiara Guidi, founder of Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio. Part of Carriageworks' In Development program 2018.
• ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Commissioned Prehistoric VR - first 360-degree VR puppetry experience, developed in partnership with ACMI.
• Carriageworks (Birdfoxmonster)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Collaboration with Studio A artists and Erth director Scott Wright for immersive dining experience 'birdfoxmonster' as part of Carriageworks' New Normal strategy.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Little Angel Theatre: A long-established London-based puppet theatre dedicated to producing and presenting puppetry work. Comparable to Erth as a long-running specialist puppetry institution with international touring and educational programming.

Direct peers

• Manual Cinema: A Chicago-based performance collective that combines puppetry, film, and live music to create immersive theatrical experiences. Comparable to Erth's hybrid puppetry-cinema approach and family-oriented programming.
• Compagnia TPO: An Italian theatre company specializing in immersive, interactive puppetry and digital media experiences for young audiences. Comparable to Erth's integration of immersive technology (VR) with traditional puppetry craft.
• Dead Puppet Society: An Australian puppetry and physical theatre company that creates visually striking productions for adult and family audiences. Directly comparable to Erth in combining puppetry craft with theatrical storytelling in the Australian market.
• Phantom Limb Company: A New York-based theatre company producing immersive puppetry-driven productions with innovative design and storytelling. Shares Erth's commitment to puppetry as a high-art form and cultural storytelling.
• Wakka Wakka Productions: A New York-based puppet theatre company producing visually inventive productions for adult and family audiences. Comparable in scale, craft-driven approach, and family/young adult programming.

Emerging players

• Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia: A Canadian puppet theatre focused on children's and family productions, including adaptations of literature and natural history stories. Comparable to Erth's Dinosaur Zoo and Prehistoric Aquarium programming model.

Regional players

• Windmill Theatre Co: A South Australian theatre company producing innovative, visually distinctive work for children and young people. Comparable in scale, touring profile, and focus on premium Australian children's theatre.
• The Puppet Co. A US-based puppet theatre specializing in family productions and educational programming. Comparable to Erth's family-focused, educational puppetry programming and school workshop offerings.
• Polyglot Theatre: An Australian theatre company creating interactive, multi-lingual, and immersive performances for children and families. Competes with Erth in the Australian children's/family live entertainment market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Erth Visual & Physical