Bognor Puppet Festival 2026
Recapping the fourth Bognor Puppet Festival! 🎪🎉🦖
The fourth Bognor Puppet Festival just wrapped up and we had a great time bringing a bunch of exciting, family-friendly shows to the Makerspace!
Thanks to everyone who attended, booked tickets, performed, helped out – or just generally hung around (like me). And if you didn’t do any of those things, well… I’ll spare the bad language and just say there’s always next year.
The Library Garden Shows (Which Weren’t at the Library) – Saturday 23rd May
While it’s a shame the library garden was closed due to building work on the Saturday, I think the puppets (and puppeteers) more than made up for it. We kicked things off with a premiere of The Butterfly House 🦋 by Handmade Theatre.
Personally, I couldn’t decide whether I preferred the moth or caterpillar puppet – though both looked great and had ample stage time, I think the latter chasing a toddler around our upstairs theatre space just about clinches it. It’s okay, he was laughing: honest.
There’s three things I learnt about Lori Hopkins’ alternate reality take on Laika the Space Dog 🐕: she likes bacon, disco music, and getting the adults in the audience to dance awkwardly while some guy at the back records them (it’s for marketing purposes.) Then again, the real Laika might’ve liked that too.
Not to mention the space-chimp astronaut entombed in bananas or Laika’s near miss with an asteroid, but I forgot to hit record, sorry. I also forgot the chimpanzee’s name, so sorry again. And for my third apology *drum roll*: I haven’t even uploaded the video of them dancing yet, so you’ll just have to wait, but you can have a photo at least – good enough?
We also had a walkabout showing of Tidings for the Bees! 🍯 by Judith Hope, featuring a very cool (and tall) beehive with accompanying bee puppets and beekeepers. You can take a quick look at all three shows by watching this special reel I put together, just for you, on our Instagram.
Jackie and the Beanstalk: Our New Show – Tuesday 26th May
After a long bank holiday weekend, the festival returned in force with our brand-new show, Jackie and the Beanstalk 🫛 – a comical retelling of the famous story with our own unique MTGS twist, featuring puppets big and small and even some stop-motion animation.
This show was extra special as it was produced by us, our tutors, and learners during one of our free employability courses. We (they) built the props, made the story, wrote the script, created sound effects, painted backdrops: pretty much everything.
Equally impressive were the namesake beanstalk which stretched all the way from our downstairs foyer into the upstairs mezzanine, and the foreboding giant puppet which peered out over our pop-up theatre. I won’t lie, it was kind of scary, and I’m almost 30.
The animation took form of a news report displayed on TV in front of our meandering marketplace audience (they didn’t buy any power parsnips or smelly sprouts) – warning them of the giant terrorising the village. This was created by our Advanced Stop-Motion Group with support of Aardman Academy, who also helped with last year’s show: Mouse on a Mission.
In the end, Jackie used a chainsaw to cut down the beanstalk and save the market, and they all lived happily ever after… or something. A full video of the show is being edited together and will appear on our website/social feed later; make sure to follow us so you don’t miss it!
Suitcase Circus: Hypnotic Tie Snake and Ladders – Wednesday 27th May
If I’m contractually obligated to say our show was the best, then Suitcase Circus 💼 by Folded Feather (Oliver Smart) takes a close second, featuring an anarchic sock, a daredevil ski glove, a hypnotic tie snake, and a really hot teapot. (And boy, was she hot.)
She even did a little musical number. See if you can guess: “I’m a little… short and… ” and we all had a sing-along. But that’s enough about her. Bob, the ringmaster sock, might get angry. I think there was something going on between them.
The photos don’t do the show justice. Bob’s continental accent and snidey remarks (especially about old Windsor Knot) can’t be enjoyed in a still, binary frame – not to mention the musical components. I loved that dancing milkshake straw. Look at him go!
If you can somehow see Suitcase Circus live, you definitely should. I’m just upset my phone ran out of battery so I couldn’t record more.
Puffling Percy and the Broken Chair of Act 2 – Thursday 28th May
While most shows listed so far had some kind of soundtrack or musical number, Puffling Percy 🪶 by Puffling Productions was definitely more of an actual musical – in no small part thanks to live music performed by Harriette Ashcroft of Mrs H and the Sing-along Band.
The show told the story of Percy, a young puffin too afraid to fly, and his friend Shrimp, a fearless field-mouse, on an unexpected adventure about overcoming fear and finding true friendship.
Even more unexpected was the presence of a cute though ferocious cat puppet. It surprised even me, the marketing guy, who’s meant to look into all this stuff – only alerted to the fact when the puppeteers began practising their best meows backstage. I think Shrimp and Percy were surprised too…
Ouch! After a brief stint in hospital with a short romantic interlude between Shrimp and his own Minnie Mouse equivalent, the duo took flight and returned to the flock. Job done! Well, if not for Harriette’s chair snapping mid-performance… but nothing some glue and a lunchbreak couldn’t fix, and the music was brilliant either way.
Along Came a Magpie (and Geopolitical Conflict in the Potting Shed) – Friday 29th May
Last but not least, Friday brought Along Came a Magpie 🐦⬛ by Scarlet Oak Theatre as the closing act. This was more focused on physical humour than some of the other more dialogue heavy performances, but was no less charming, and brought some much-needed flora to our Makerspace – well, until said magpie destroyed it all.
Speaking of, the magpie itself was very cool. Its wings, attached to the tail with string (or some kind of puppeteer magic a layman like me wouldn’t know), could be maneuvered to flap independently of the head’s pivot, showing joy at eating fresh seeds and mischief at smashing pots in equal measure.
In the end, our gardener, much like the UN, facilitated a ceasefire through the provision of a sturdy bird’s nest. All’s well that ends well, lest she run out of seeds. My analogy makes more sense if you saw the war face, Full Metal Jacket segment when she donned a flowerpot helmet.
All in all, a great selection of heartwarming, comical, clever, and sometimes a little emotional puppet shows. Props to everyone involved. I hope these little tongue-in-cheek reviews have done them justice.
Thanks again to all the wonderful performers, organisers, and attendees, and everyone else who helped out! We hope you all had fun and will tell everyone all about it in preparation for next year. It’d make my job a lot easier.
As mentioned above, our yearly festival always coincides with one of our production skills and employability courses – offering people looking for work a chance to learn new skills and build confidence, all for free.
And don’t be put off by all the theatrics, acting, and bad jokes above; while our courses are based around theatre production, the main focus is actually on developing transferable skills like confidence, communication, creativity and teamwork, and you won’t be expected to act or perform.
If you’re interested in learning more about our courses and finding out how you can get involved, whether you’re a creative with existing skills or a complete beginner, you can find out more by browsing our website. Here’s a good page to start with. Or check our current courses (more coming soon!)
Failing that, you can reach out to us on social media or send us an email, more than likely we’ve got something you can get involved with, and we’ll be happy to answer any questions or show you around.
~ Thanks for reading!
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