Guest Blog: Associate Director and Puppet Designer Oliver Hymans on Celebrating Puppetry in This Year's Little Angel Children's Puppet Festival

As the Associate Director and curator of the Little Angel Theatre, I am delighted to share the excitement and buzz surrounding our award-winning Children's Puppet Festival, happening this August.

Last year, we were thrilled to receive an Offie “One Off” Award, a testament to our dedication to bringing the best of puppetry to children and families. This year, we are eager to continue this tradition, presenting an array of captivating shows that showcase the wonderful art of puppetry in all its forms.

The Curation Process

We are committed to delivering a festival that is diverse, inclusive, and above all, magical for our young audiences. Curating the Children's Puppet Festival is a meticulous process: this year, we reviewed over 100 applications for shows from artists across the country and from overseas. Our goal was to find productions that used puppetry in the most exciting and inspiring ways. We looked for creativity, innovation, and the ability to engage young minds. The selection process involved careful consideration of each show’s artistic merit, storytelling prowess, and its potential to ignite the imagination.

A Rich Tapestry of Puppetry Styles

As with last year, this season’s program not only entertains but also introduces children to the rich and varied world of puppetry. One of our primary objectives was to ensure that the festival offered a diverse range of puppetry styles suitable for different age groups.

This year’s program includes such varied shows: from opera for babies (Under the Little Red Moon) to interactive craft along shows were the audience are very much involved (Claytime, Boxville); from the endangered heritage crafts of marionette puppetry (Lottie, The Travelling Doll) to classic retellings of well-loved stories (The Little Prince, Jack and the Beanstalk). We also have a couple of fantastic new shows: one which uses visually-stunning projection-mapping technology (Minnie Stynker) and another which is told completely non-verbally (Moonsmile).

Encouraging New Talent

At the Little Angel Theatre, we believe in nurturing new and exciting talent. We encourage artists and companies to reach out to us if they would like their work to be considered for future festivals. Whether you have an existing show or a seed of a new idea, we are always on the lookout for innovative puppetry. Our festival is a platform for emerging artists to showcase their talent and for established artists to push the boundaries of their craft.

Alongside our show programme we have a wonderful range of classes, courses and one off workshop days for children and adults alike – check out the Little Angel Theatre Website for all the info you need to know about booking on these courses.

Looking Forward

As we gear up for this year’s festival, we are filled with anticipation and excitement. The Children's Puppet Festival is more than just a series of shows; it is a celebration of creativity, storytelling, and the boundless imagination of children. We are proud to bring together such a diverse and talented group of artists to share their work with our audience.

Join us this August for an unforgettable experience at the Little Angel Theatre. Whether you are a puppetry enthusiast, a theatre professional, or simply looking for a magical outing for your family, our festival has something for everyone. We look forward to welcoming you and celebrating the enchanting world of puppetry together.

For artists interested in being part of future festivals, please check out our "Go Behind the Scenes" event on 16 August which for £15 includes 2 x shows tickets (Minnie Stynker and Lottie the Travelling Doll), networking opportunities plus a Q+A with festival curator Oliver Hymans.

You can also reach out to oliver@littleangeltheatre.com at any time with a proposal, seed of a new idea or if you just want to find out more information about getting your work staged. 

The Children's Puppet Festival is at the Little Angel Theatre from 2 August - 1 September

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