The Puppet Festival is produced by the Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall and arts charity City Arts (Nottingham). The event is funded by Arts Council England, thanks to money from the National Lottery, and is supported by Nottingham City Council.
The Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall will be hosting the acclaimed theatre production Life of Pi, based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel. City Arts will lead a community engagement programme showcasing puppetry in local libraries and community centres across Nottingham. They will also produce a takeover of the city’s streets on Saturday 13 April featuring Mahogany Carnival Arts, who appeared in the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in 2022.
Other venues that will host a range of local, national and international puppet shows include Nottingham Playhouse, New Art Exchange, Squire Performing Arts Centre and Lakeside Arts. Broadway Cinema will be presenting a rare screening of David Lynch’s cinematic debut Eraserhead.
Jonathan Saville, Programming Director at the Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall, said:
“The Nottingham Puppet Festival is now becoming a regular event in the cultural calendar of the city and is something we’re all incredibly proud and excited to be involved with and working on again with our partners in and around Nottingham. As well as presenting the stunning production of Life of Pi on the Theatre Royal stage we also have a number of other amazing events taking place across the city during the festival.”
Alison Denholm, Creative Development Manager at City Arts, said:
“We are delighted to bring this third Nottingham Puppet Festival to the city. We are looking forward to producing a vibrant engagement programme and filling Market Square with fun and free events. We will be working with local community centres and libraries to bring puppetry into neighbourhoods, as well as commissioning a new walkabout puppet that we hope will meet hundreds of Nottingham residents. The festival will be a joyous event for people to look forward to.”
Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, Portfolio Holder for Leisure & Culture, Nottingham City Council, said:
“It’s great for Nottingham to once again host this unique city-wide event, drawing in world-class puppeteers from across the UK and Europe, providing a showcase of our richly diverse arts and culture scene, and engaging with communities across the city. I’m incredibly proud to see our cultural organisations coming together to provide city residents with such an entertaining, creative and inspiring programme of events.
I would also like to thank Arts Council England for their continuing support of this festival.”
Peter Knott, Midlands Area Director, Arts Council England, said: “We’re delighted to support The Nottingham Puppet Festival, thanks to money from National Lottery players.
“This joyful event will bring world-class puppetry to the city, with stunning outdoor displays free for communities to enjoy. There’ll also be an exciting programme of creative workshops, talks, theatre shows and screenings with events taking place in libraries, schools, cultural venues and community spaces.”
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