See puppets for free – no strings attached!
THE city centre will be taken over by puppets next week, with a whole range of free performances, parades and workshops on offer.
The Nottingham Puppet Festival will be bringing the city to life from Tuesday, to Sunday, April 21, but will have a special day of entertainment for visitors in the city on Saturday, April 13.
The event, which is a partnership between City Arts and Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall, is one not to be missed this Easter holiday and is a great day out for families with a trail of puppet entertainment from the city centre to Sneinton.
The entertainment on April 13 will start at 11am in Lister Gate with Inspirate’s Ancient Giants in a battle between good and evil.
Gods and Demons from ancient stories will be brought to life in a family-friendly street theatre show, creating an exciting fusion of largescale puppetry, martial arts, physical theatre and storytelling. This will really be brought to life with the use of two 12-foot puppets, which will interact with the audiences.
From noon in Old Market Square, you will be able to see Mahogany Carnival Design’s spectacular costumes. The organisation is a family of creatives who together make magical, interactive characters that interweave to make an exquisite kaleidoscope of colour and shape.
There will also be some children’s storytelling at the Central Library with performances of The Search for Teddy Island and Charlie Comet and the Magic in the Attic inside the library, whilst being surrounded by Laura Mathews’ amazing Flying Puppets exhibition.
Outside the library you will be able to watch Lempen’s The Fisher and His Wife, which is a story told from a box, mounted at the front of a penny farthing bicycle that will keep both children and adults entertained. Handmade Theatre will also be performing outside the library with Tell Me A Story.
This will be a fun family show featuring Handmade Theatre’s signature mix of dynamic storytelling, live music, original songs, beautiful puppets and colourful characters.
Over in Sneinton Market you will be able to get up close to the By Our Hands’ handcrafted marionettes at their studio open day.
Visitors will also have the chance to have a rummage around the wood pile, take up tools and craft a collaged character from repurposed and unruly materials. While in Sneinton you could also swing by the City Arts Window Gallery to see pieces by puppeteer John M. Blundall from the National Puppetry Archive. All events taking place throughout the day are free.