Heath McIvor

The Man Behind the Purple Felt

Heath McIvor understands the business from behind the scenes. He started in Melbourne operating string puppets before moving on to heavier materials and electronics. In 2005, he unleashed Randy Feltface on stage for the first time.

That cynical purple puppet was a far cry from any idea of children's entertainment. The humor was dark, and its reflections on human existence were uncomfortable for an audience used to clean-cut puppets.

And the gamble paid off.

In 2010, he premiered the series Sammy J & Randy in Ricketts Lane alongside Sammy J. The project blended musical theater with the most acidic comedy on Australian television. It allowed him to travel to international festivals such as Edinburgh, where tickets sold out in minutes.

Technical Rigor and the Henson School

The American entertainment industry came calling through the Jim Henson Company. In 2019, he worked on The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance for Netflix. The job demanded pinpoint precision (sometimes coordinating several puppeteers for a single character) and exhausting physical stamina.

McIvor had to learn to move characters that weighed several kilos while keeping emotion in his voice. Because control of timing is what separates a puppeteer from a simple voice actor.

Making a living from felt demands iron discipline.

But his biggest commercial success is still tied to his purple alter ego. In 2022, he recorded the special Sticky Face, and in 2024, he completed the world tour of Feltopia across theaters in Europe and the Americas.

Production and Creative Control

McIvor doesn't just pull the strings. He writes the scripts and directs the staging of his live shows. So the Australian decided not to delegate the writing, in order to keep a tone that blends existentialism with raw social observation.

In 2023, his YouTube channel surpassed one million subscribers thanks to clips from his improvised shows. Monetizing this digital content has allowed his productions to remain completely independent of major studios.

The audience took up the challenge.

The technical crew he uses on his international tours was cut to three people in 2024 to optimize transport costs. The lighting specifications in his contracts require a cool color temperature so the puppet's material does not lose its texture on camera.