Puppetry

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Puppetry is at the heart of every Theatre-Rites production and the inspiration for each productions starts with either an object or a site.  Every object/puppet is created in collaboration with talented makers and designers and brought to life during the rehearsal process by an incredible range of experienced puppeteers.

We specifically promote understanding and enjoyment of ‘object-led’ theatre (a term to describe the use of everyday objects to tell a story) and celebrate the power of visuals, puppetry and animation by working in genuine collaboration with designers, visual artists, film-makers, puppeteers, musicians, composers, actors and dancers.

On the About Puppetry page you will find a more detailed description of what puppetry is and click here to discover more about our Artistic Director Sue Buckmaster’s heritage, puppet whispering technique, her work outside of Theatre-Rites and the importance of puppets in her practice.

“In the wondrous world of Theatre-Rites’ shows, objects act” Theatre-Rites Animating Objects, Puppets and Sites

We have seen a huge increase in the use of puppetry in theatre over the last few years, and this has, in turn, led to a demand for training. We offer a 2 day intensive puppetry workshop which can be adapted to suit a wide remit of skills and experience.

Useful Resources

 

Umbrella Organisations, Theatres and Training:

The Curious School of Puppetry

Wimbledon College: MA Puppetry

Little Angel Theatre

Norwich Puppet Theatre

British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild

The Puppetry Collective

PuppeteersUk

Puppet Centre

Books:

Theatre-Rites Animating Puppets, Objects and Sites by Sue Buckmaster and Liam Jarvis

Handspring Puppet Company by Jane Taylor, William Kentridge, Adrienne Sichel, Adrian Kohler, Gerhard Marx Lesego Rampolokeng and Basil Jones

Puppetry by Penny Francis

Puppetry: How To Do It by Mervyn Millar

Puppet An Essay on Uncanny Life by Kenneth Gross

Two performers on stage. They both have cardboard boxes on their heads with drawn faces. They shake hands.

About puppetry

An overview of the history of puppets and puppetry.

Find out more

Workshops

You will find details of any upcoming workshops here.

Find out more

Sue Buckmaster

Sue Buckmaster's practice, heritage and consultancy offers

Find out more about Sue

2 puppeteers stand in a doorway. An old man puppet sits on the shoulders of one, while the other manipulates the puppet's arms. 5 young children stand in front of the puppeteers, 4 looking at the puppet and 1 smiling facing the camera

© Penny Bernand & Josie Taylor

The girl puppet Belle, with an orange dress and blue shoes, is playing a game and swinging from a string structure. Belle is helped by two performers, who are enjoying the game with her.

© Andrew Whittuck

A large wolf shaped puppet is made of rough grey fabric. It is being manipulated by a performer who is entirely inside the fabric, only the bottom of their legs are visible.

© Andrew Whittuck

a performer wears a red striped dressing gown and sits on the end of a bed. Next to him is a pair of striped pyjamas as if in human form with its arm resting on the shoulder of the performer.

© Andrew Whittuck

a small puppet dressed in orange pyjamas sits in the middle on a pillow and 2 performers wearing old fashioned nightcaps observe from behind. The puppet is lit while the performers are just visible in the darkness.

© Andrew Whittuck

A performer wearing a matching jacket and skirt and a tape measure around her neck stands beside a humanette puppet: a small puppet body with a performer's head standing on top of a stool in front of a black screen.

© Penny Bernand

a male puppet figure made from cardboard sits on a table top with 5 puppeteers dressed in colourful costume manipulating it.

© Penny Bernand

3 performers wearing old fashioned brown shop coats are visible around a wooden counter top. One manipulates a puppet which is seated on the counter made from various household objects including tins, brushes, paper tags. One puppeteer's hand can be seen behind a shop coat manipulated to appear as if it is a body sitting on the counter holding a clear plastic jar of sweets. Two other performers look on.

© Trine Andersen

2 old-fashioned brown shop coats standing at a shop counter, one with its sleeve around the other's shoulder. They appear to be people but have no bodies. Behind them is a wooden shelving unit with various glass bottles.

© Trine Andersen

2 performers wearing blue aprons stand at a counter top each manipulating a small figure made out of a yellow duster.

© Trine Andersen

a human-like silhouette wearing a cap with arm outstretched towards an illuminated shape of a bird. There is netting effect in the background lit from behind

© Trine Andersen

Two performers in the production Unfolding Andersen manipulate a paper puppet in duck form, representing the Ugly Duckling

© British Library

Four performers manipulate the movements of a boy made out of white balloons, trying to encourage him to play a ball game.

© Robert Workman

© Patrick Baldwin

2 performers manipulate a puppet called Salt Man who is dressed in a full length white jacket, white gloves with a head made from white fabric. Two other performers are at the side: a man in a white sailor's uniform stands with a white cap in his hand, a woman wearing a white outfit kneels on the floor on the other side.

© Chloe Lamford

A conical shaped puppet girl wearing a purple dress stands on a xylophone as 3 performers manipulate her and her feet play a tune.

@ Patrick Baldwin

A performer with dreadlocks holds a blue pole at an angle as a puppet baby slides down it.

@ Patrick Baldwin

a puppet's head made out of old newspapers. He wears a pair of reading glasses and a shirt and tie.

© Patrick Baldwin

a puppet made of a leather bag and a detailed face made from leather offcuts is operated on a table top by 2 performers.

© Patrick Baldwin

three performers peer over the top of a tabletop London cityscape made from various discarded objects. One performer has a glove puppet on his hand as if the puppet is walking through the city while the other performers look on.

© Patrick Baldwin

a performer dressed in white disposable boiler suit and yellow plastic gloves manipulates a puppet duck made from metal household items on a tabletop. A green, yellow and red plastic waste bag hang off the table in front of them.

© Christian Hogue

Beasty Baby puppet stands on a platform. He has a tuft of orange hair and wears a grey woollen romper suit. He holds a wooden spoon and is manipulated by a puppeteer dressed in a pale blue top. A screen behind shows a window looking out onto a forest of trees.

©Robert Workman

A puppet in a grey zip up hoodie is manipulated by man in black jacket and a man in a black hat.

©Robert Day

The puppet is sat a cardboard desk.

©Robert Day

Two performers are on stage with a puppet in the form of a boombox speaker. The performer on the left sings into a microphone with his arm raised and the other kneels by the puppet. The puppet is on a cardboard box.

©Robert Day

A stage with two puppeteers manipulating a female puppet in traditional sudanese clothing. The puppet is coming out of a suitcase. A performer on the right holds the puppet's hand and looks away from her.

©Jonathan Keenan

A puppet of a black woman in traditional South African clothing in purple, blue and yellow colours. She wears layers of wooden beads around her neck and has a yellow headscarf on with long twigs for hair. She is puppeteered by two performers in blue overalls and headscarfs. They are among green leaves and trees.

©Jeff Eden

BIG UP Co-Directed and written by Sue Buckmaster & Keith Saha ; Set and Costume Desig by Verity Quinn ; Lighting Design by Joe Hornsby ; Sound Design by Jon Everett ; Music by Hobbit, Dorcas Seb & Keith Saha ; Puppets designed by Michael Fowkes ; Theatre Rites and 20 Stories High ; Unity Theatre ; Liverpool, UK ; 7 February 2019 ; Credit and Copyright: Helen Murray

Two performers puppeteer a grey puppet of a little person. The puppet has a large round head and wiry green and yellow hair and green shorts. It stands on a freight case.

©Helen Murray

4 performers stand behind a metal table top manipulating Robot Boy puppet while a fifth performer looks on. They are all dressed in white coats and boiler suits.

© Birgit Hupfeld

Two performers on stage. One is holding an orange furry muppet style puppet. The other performer blows air into the puppet's fur.

©Tristram Kenton

A young woman with braided hair and wearing snorkelling goggles touches noses affectionately with a green turtle puppet.

©Susanne Hassler-Smith

©Susanne Hassler-Smith

Two performers, one in green torn combat clothes and the other in blue overalls and a yellow hard hat puppeteer a white pelican puppet. The pelican is made of plastic cups. the pelican has a yellow beak and red nose tip made of a bottle cap. The pelican is standing on plastic crates on a stage. It is looking at a 3rd performer on the right, a blonde woman in a yellow dress who has an encouraging expression.

©Susanne Hassler-Smith

Previous Slide
Next Slide
2 puppeteers stand in a doorway. An old man puppet sits on the shoulders of one, while the other manipulates the puppet's arms. 5 young children stand in front of the puppeteers, 4 looking at the puppet and 1 smiling facing the camera
The girl puppet Belle, with an orange dress and blue shoes, is playing a game and swinging from a string structure. Belle is helped by two performers, who are enjoying the game with her.
A large wolf shaped puppet is made of rough grey fabric. It is being manipulated by a performer who is entirely inside the fabric, only the bottom of their legs are visible.
a performer wears a red striped dressing gown and sits on the end of a bed. Next to him is a pair of striped pyjamas as if in human form with its arm resting on the shoulder of the performer.
a small puppet dressed in orange pyjamas sits in the middle on a pillow and 2 performers wearing old fashioned nightcaps observe from behind. The puppet is lit while the performers are just visible in the darkness.
A performer wearing a matching jacket and skirt and a tape measure around her neck stands beside a humanette puppet: a small puppet body with a performer's head standing on top of a stool in front of a black screen.
a male puppet figure made from cardboard sits on a table top with 5 puppeteers dressed in colourful costume manipulating it.
3 performers wearing old fashioned brown shop coats are visible around a wooden counter top. One manipulates a puppet which is seated on the counter made from various household objects including tins, brushes, paper tags. One puppeteer's hand can be seen behind a shop coat manipulated to appear as if it is a body sitting on the counter holding a clear plastic jar of sweets. Two other performers look on.
2 old-fashioned brown shop coats standing at a shop counter, one with its sleeve around the other's shoulder. They appear to be people but have no bodies. Behind them is a wooden shelving unit with various glass bottles.
2 performers wearing blue aprons stand at a counter top each manipulating a small figure made out of a yellow duster.
a human-like silhouette wearing a cap with arm outstretched towards an illuminated shape of a bird. There is netting effect in the background lit from behind
Two performers in the production Unfolding Andersen manipulate a paper puppet in duck form, representing the Ugly Duckling
Four performers manipulate the movements of a boy made out of white balloons, trying to encourage him to play a ball game.
2 performers manipulate a puppet called Salt Man who is dressed in a full length white jacket, white gloves with a head made from white fabric. Two other performers are at the side: a man in a white sailor's uniform stands with a white cap in his hand, a woman wearing a white outfit kneels on the floor on the other side.
A conical shaped puppet girl wearing a purple dress stands on a xylophone as 3 performers manipulate her and her feet play a tune.
A performer with dreadlocks holds a blue pole at an angle as a puppet baby slides down it.
a puppet's head made out of old newspapers. He wears a pair of reading glasses and a shirt and tie.
a puppet made of a leather bag and a detailed face made from leather offcuts is operated on a table top by 2 performers.
three performers peer over the top of a tabletop London cityscape made from various discarded objects. One performer has a glove puppet on his hand as if the puppet is walking through the city while the other performers look on.
a performer dressed in white disposable boiler suit and yellow plastic gloves manipulates a puppet duck made from metal household items on a tabletop. A green, yellow and red plastic waste bag hang off the table in front of them.
Beasty Baby puppet stands on a platform. He has a tuft of orange hair and wears a grey woollen romper suit. He holds a wooden spoon and is manipulated by a puppeteer dressed in a pale blue top. A screen behind shows a window looking out onto a forest of trees.
A puppet in a grey zip up hoodie is manipulated by man in black jacket and a man in a black hat.
The puppet is sat a cardboard desk.
Two performers are on stage with a puppet in the form of a boombox speaker. The performer on the left sings into a microphone with his arm raised and the other kneels by the puppet. The puppet is on a cardboard box.
A stage with two puppeteers manipulating a female puppet in traditional sudanese clothing. The puppet is coming out of a suitcase. A performer on the right holds the puppet's hand and looks away from her.
A puppet of a black woman in traditional South African clothing in purple, blue and yellow colours. She wears layers of wooden beads around her neck and has a yellow headscarf on with long twigs for hair. She is puppeteered by two performers in blue overalls and headscarfs. They are among green leaves and trees.
Two performers puppeteer a grey puppet of a little person. The puppet has a large round head and wiry green and yellow hair and green shorts. It stands on a freight case.
4 performers stand behind a metal table top manipulating Robot Boy puppet while a fifth performer looks on. They are all dressed in white coats and boiler suits.
Two performers on stage. One is holding an orange furry muppet style puppet. The other performer blows air into the puppet's fur.
A young woman with braided hair and wearing snorkelling goggles touches noses affectionately with a green turtle puppet.
Two performers, one in green torn combat clothes and the other in blue overalls and a yellow hard hat puppeteer a white pelican puppet. The pelican is made of plastic cups. the pelican has a yellow beak and red nose tip made of a bottle cap. The pelican is standing on plastic crates on a stage. It is looking at a 3rd performer on the right, a blonde woman in a yellow dress who has an encouraging expression.
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“ Theatre-Rites, a company of genuine originality and flair ”

The Guardian

“ Who says that theatre for the very young can’t be great art? Not me, and certainly not Theatre-Rites, who have been creating shows as good as anything made for adult audiences for more than 20 years ”

Lyn Gardner, The Guardian
“ Why does children’s theatre have such a bad name? One reason could be that not enough people know the work of Theatre-Rites. Their new touring show is one of the best times I’ve had in a theatre all year. ”

The Times on Mischief
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