The Bristol Festival of Puppetry returns on 1st and runs till 10th September this year, with venues at Tobacco Factory Theatres, Watershed and Puppet Place, the harbour-side headquarters of the festival. There are free events for those new to puppetry, with workshops for the professional and aspiring puppeteers. There’s BSL and also relaxed events meant for those with hearing impairment or other additional needs.
This year’s event has something for everyone and has lined-up artists from all over the world. The audience will see that iPads become hand puppets, that puppets come in all sizes, shapes and abilities, like humans and that animation and films are forms of puppetry.
Festival highlights include- Meet Fred by Hijinx, on 4th September and later on 7th and 8th September there’s a UK premier of Tricykle, from Les Sages Fous of Canada. Equivoc from Canada will present La Causeuse on 9th and 10th September. Another UK premier is iPET and on 2nd September performed by Dutch troupe is Bontehond. On 1st September there is an evening with Barnaby Dixon. Creatures of Bristol Carnival will be on 2nd September.
Chris Pirie and Rachel Mc Nally, the Festival co-producers, say the festival is an opportunity for Bristol to celebrate its diverse creative offers and to reach out to new communities, with a rich programme of films, live shows, free events and activities. They added that they are excited to invite artists from around the globe and to showcase the best of local talent, besides conversations about and all the guises of puppetry. For more details go to the site – bristolfestivalofpuppetry.org.
