The Bristol Festival of Puppetry

Puppets of all shapes and sizes will be visiting Southville this August and September, as Bristol hosts its first ever festival dedicated to puppetry.

Running from Friday 28th of August until Thursday 6th of September, the Tobacco Factory Theatre, Aardman Animations and Puppet Place will be joining forces to bring puppetry in all its forms.

Puppet Place, established in 1984 is aiming to revive the interest and art of puppetry in Bristol through the exciting new festival. Bristol puppet companies Full Bean Visual Theatre, Ginger Green and Pickled Image are behind Puppet Place, along with world-class Aardman Animation, the creators behind Wallace and Grommit.

Aardman Founder and Puppet Place Patron, Peter Lord says “Whether it’s a sock with a couple of goggly eyes on it, or a piece of living Plasticine, or a 12m high elephant walking the streets of London, puppets continue to grab our attention. There’s something about the extra-special gap between what our brains tell us, and what our hearts are ready to believe that makes the enjoyment of puppets one of the great experiences of theatre or film.”

The festival has a fantastic line up with something suitable for all ages and including all puppet forms imaginable.

The festival will reach an exciting climax on Sunday 6th of September, when the Creatures of Southville Carnival will wind its way through the streets of BS3 at 12 noon, with a gaggle of magical and mysterious puppets.