Programming the Little Angel Theatre Children’s Puppet Festival

In most theatres, summer is a quiet time.  The stage lights go down, the doors close, and the “dark period” begins. It’s usually a time for maintenance, repairs, and preparations for the next season. At Little Angel Theatre, we do the opposite. The moment school’s out, we throw the doors wide open and pack both of our two performance spaces with puppets, theatre makers, and that wonderful festival buzz. It’s not without its challenges: fitting in the pre-production planning, tech and, of course, the performances into our already busy year takes some serious juggling, but the whole team pitches in to make it happen. By the time the opening weekend rolls around, it feels like we’ve built a little carnival of creativity right here in Islington.

Each year, in the autumn, we put out an open call, to seek out the very best in theatre for young audiences, drawing in both fresh voices and established puppetry artists. This is our chance to discover new talent, spotlight emerging companies, and present work that surprises and delights our audiences; whether that’s Australian duo The Listies bringing riotous stand-up comedy for kids ‘Make You Lol’ (19-21 August), or Paris Bubbles conjuring entire worlds from shimmering bubbles in Escape from the Bubble Tub. (30-31 August), with both shows featuring in this years’ line-up.

Each year, we sift through applications for over a hundred shows before settling on the final line-up – a process that’s as exciting as it is challenging. We’re looking for a programme that’s broad in scope, showcases the widest possible range of puppetry techniques and styles, and offers something for all ages. That might mean mixing classic tales with bold, unusual ideas (for instance Garlic Theatre or Lyngo Theatre), and making sure there’s space for both well-loved traditions and brand-new experiments (String Theatre). In past festivals we’ve welcomed everything from opera for babies (English Touring Opera’s Under the Little Red Moon), to immersive and interactive adventures to “build-your-own” story shows (Boxville by Cardboard Adventures), and even productions using augmented reality (Minnie Stynker by Soap Soup Arts).  And all sit happily alongside one another under the broad banner of puppetry.

The festival, now in its third year, is also our platform to celebrate the sheer range of puppetry being practised within the sector today. From the delicate intricacy of shadow puppetry to the inventiveness of object theatre, we showcase forms that challenge preconceptions of what puppetry can be as well as celebrate more traditional forms of the craft. The festival has gone from strength to strength, winning an Offie Award in its very first year. For many of our audience members, the festival marks their very first visit to Little Angel Theatre, and we love welcoming them into our community (and hopefully tempting them back again to one of our own shows in the Autumn!)

Of course, programming new work always carries a degree of risk. Some shows arrive on our stage still in the final stages of development, and some companies are just starting their careers. But we believe it’s essential to give emerging voices the space to experiment, grow, and share their stories. That’s how the art form evolves.

This year, one of those new voices is especially close to home: our current design trainee, Gisela Mulindwa. She will be presenting The Tortoise and the Firefly, (15-17 August), an original piece she has written and designed herself, inspired by a range of different East African Folk Tales. It’s the culmination of 12 months of intensive training within LAT’s design department, giving Gisela the chance to put her skills into practice while also stepping into new roles – casting performers and writing their contracts, directing, budgeting, and collaborating with our technical team to bring her vision to life. Not only will she leave LAT with the experience of making a show entirely on her own, but also with a fully realised portfolio project that showcases her artistic voice. We can’t wait to share the piece for the first time this weekend.

For the second year running, we’ve programmed a show that puts marionettes centre stage, a deliberate choice and one that’s close to my heart. Marionette-making is officially recognised as an endangered craft, something I worked on with Heritage Crafts to have added to the national Red List of Endangered Crafts, and it’s a form of puppetry I’m determined to see thrive. The intricacy, skill, and magic of puppets which use strings as their method of manipulation (also known as marionettes) make them unlike anything else, and we’re keen to keep expanding their presence in the festival. In fact, we’re already dreaming ahead: in future years, we plan to open up our main theatre’s bridges so we can host full-scale long-string marionette shows, giving audiences the rare chance to experience this beautiful, endangered art form in all its glory.

We’re excited about the festival’s future. Alongside performances, we offer a wide range of wraparound activities for children, families, and adults, from puppetry-making workshops to specialist courses in different performance techniques. Our ambitions for the coming years are big: more international work, more bursaries to help artists develop new productions, and perhaps even taking the festival outdoors into our local parks and public spaces (though we all know British weather likes to keep us guessing).

The Children’s Puppet Festival is our summer celebration of creativity and the endless possibilities of puppetry. If you’ve got a puppetry show, or even just the spark of an idea, that you think could inspire and delight young audiences, we’d love to hear from you.

oliver@littleangeltheatre.com