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Puppets

Puppet making, puppeteering and puppetry direction

I began making puppets professionally in 2016. Since then I have designed, built and brought to life many puppets for workshops, schools and theatre in conventional and unconventional spaces (a dormouse in a cave, or a piglet in a castle moat, anyone?)

I use reused and recycled materials to build all my puppets, and wherever possible make them sturdy and safe enough to ‘meet’ young audiences up close before, during or after the show.
 

I often puppeteer my own or others' creations, and help others bring puppets to life as a puppetry director.

Un Grain Boulanger
2023
Puppet making and direction.
Touring festivals in France, 2023.

My task was to build a 'mini-me' of the performer for this solo clown-bakery performance. The catch? Only use materials found in a bakery, as though it had been built by the clown himself.

 

Mini-me also needed to be cute and flexible, able to jump, dance, sneak quietly... and put bread into the oven on a wooden paddle! I made him from a box of unwanted materials from a real bakery, using cork, brown wax paper, wire, rolling pins, bits of apron, different types of piping nozzle... His cork hands are built to reliably hold a tiny bread oven paddle loaded with real dough while the single operator deals with his head !

His head and arms are rod-held and his feet are weighted, with articulated neck, elbows, hips knees and ankles. He can be operated with one or two hands.

The Silent Garden
2022 & 23
Adaptation, puppet making, direction and puppeteering for National Trust Jersey. Adapted from the book by Penny Greenland
Touring schools, libraries and historic properties in Jersey

I created a collection of 7 single-operator puppets for this charming interactive show for audiences aged 2+
Joint winner of the International National Trusts Organisation Excellence award 2022.

 

I focused on texture in all the puppets to mirror the other sensory elements in the show as a whole. Children could meet and touch the puppets after the performance.

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Using repurposed and recycled materials at all levels was really important on this build for a show about protecting nature. Some of the materials used include repurposed wood, holey jumpers, and pebbles for weighting!

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I also act and puppeteer in the show, and have shared puppetry skills with my fellow actor.

Momo
2023
Puppet making and direction for PH University Heidelberg.
Performances in Heidelberg, Germany, 2023.

I was asked to conceive and build this single operator rod puppet for the university students, as well as teaching puppetry and puppet directing on the project.

 

Kasseopeia needed to be simultaneously down-to-earth and otherworldly, unremarkable and visible onstage, suggest a tortoise but not disguise her puppet-ness. I laser cut a wood frame and invited the student puppeteers to flesh this out with materials suggesting foliage, mud, moss and lichen as rehearsals went on. Her mouth opened and her rods were detachable for some lovely moments of hands-on puppeteering at times during the show.

Her face is hand carved and painted from repurposed upholstery foam offcuts, with driftwood and reindeer moss.

Un Chant de Noël
2020 & 2021
For Rock Paper Scissors Theatre
Schools tour in Bourgogne, France

One main and one simple puppet, plus object manipulation. All single-operator.

 

Tiny Tim needed to transform in 1 gesture from a pot of chestnuts into a small boy! He is operated by a single puppeteer, sometimes with only one hand. I used papier maché, textiles from charity shops, and dried out chestnuts.
 

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a simpler build, whose only moving part is its wafting cloak. It needed to be puppeteered with only one hand, and passed smoothly from one puppeteer to another.

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I also storytell and puppeteer in the show, and shared puppetry skills with my fellow actor.

Happy Me
2019
For Handprint Theatre
Touring schools in Newham, London

Ozzy was a small boy whose journey to better mental health with the help of his audience was the heart of this show and workshops for Early Years and KS1.

 

He is simply made, from recycled offcuts of upholstery foam. At different moments in the show he was operated by 1, 2, or 3 puppeteers. For this show it was most important that he was versatile in what he could believably express - both emotionally and in range of movements like crying, dancing, flying... He also needed to be approachable and relatable for the young audience, without possibly resembling any particular child. For those reasons the design of his face was really important. As you can see he is sturdy enough for young puppeteers to help out, too! 

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I also acted and puppeteered in this show, and ran workshops with our young audiences.

Moonbird
2018
For Handprint Theatre
Reading University, Pleasance London and Edinburgh
Adapted from the book by Joyce Dunbar

Moonbird was a beautiful show using visual storytelling and BSL. I made two puppets, both of which were out and about meeting audiences on the Edinburgh Mile during the Fringe. 

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The Moonbird needed to be magnificent and magical, with unfolding wings and an articulated head. She was made with a wood and metal frame, papier maché, fabric offcuts, and ethically sourced feathers. She was operated by a single puppeteer in character.

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The young Prince needed to be cuddly and friendly, as well as resembling the actor who played him when older!

He was made from fabric offcuts, pillow stuffing and needle felting, and operated by 1 or 2 puppeteers at different points in the show. 

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I also acted as puppetry director on this show.

Circus!
2017
For Handprint Theatre and Discover Story Centre
QEII School, Discover & Newham Carnival

Meet Wendy Wheels, a tightrope roller! Wendy is a simple build using wire, foam packaging materials and wire. Oh and a sensible helping of glitter paint!

 

While I built Wendy myself, our bird mascot for Newham Carnival was built with participants in workshops at Discover Story Centre and paraded with us magnificently in Newham Carnival.

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This performance and workshops were completed with participants and audience with a range of additional needs.

Alice in Wonderland
2016 & 2017
For Butterfly Theatre
Tours in Germany and UK

My 2 main puppets for Alice in Wonderland were a glove puppet dormouse and a larger single-operator piglet.

 

The piglet needed to transform from a baby into a pig. He is made of textiles from charity shops, and pillow stuffing.
 

The dormouse had a previous life as a teddy bear who was in a sad condition when I repurposed her. She needed to be puppeteered with only one hand, and treated sadly very roughly by various characters, so I made her as a glove puppet.

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I directed the puppetry and object manipulation for this show, as well as puppeteering the piglet myself.

A Little Princess
2016
For Foxglove Theatre
Edinburgh Fringe

I made both my first puppets, a rat and a monkey, using simple construction techniques, with textile offcuts and charity shop haberdashery, pillow stuffing and beads for weighting.

 

The rat was a single-operator puppet which made a rustling noise when it moved. It needed to be a friendly character once we got to know it!

The monkey was operated by 1 or 2 puppeteers at different moments.

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Both of these puppets successfully stood up to all sorts of Scottish weather and meeting hundreds of fascinated children on the Royal Mile.

Where the Wild Things Are
2020
For Handprint Theatre
Online video

I made these junk puppets for a guided home activity during lockdown to accompany a video about one of my favourite books: Where the Wild Things Are.

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