Suitcase Theatre: Bobbin's Big Adventure

By Vivienne Melody Coupe

At Little Angel Theatre, we believe that access to high-quality theatre should not depend on a person’s ability to travel to a venue. Suitcase Theatre is our response to this belief: a strand of small-scale, co-created productions designed to reach audiences who face significant barriers to attending traditional theatre settings. By taking puppetry directly into community spaces — including hospitals, care homes, refugee centres and prisons — Suitcase Theatre removes physical, social and emotional barriers to access, while maintaining the same artistic ambition and care that defines all our work. Each production is developed collaboratively with people who have lived experience of the context it will be performed in, ensuring that the work is relevant, respectful and genuinely engaging.

Little Angel Theatre’s newest Suitcase Theatre project focuses on children and families who engage with the prison system. LAT has been visiting prison family visit days across the UK for two years, delivering puppet making crafts and entertaining family shows; learning about the prison system and connecting with PACT, the largest family engagement charity in prisons in the country. According to data released by the Labour government in July 2024, it is recorded that 192,000 children in England and Wales have a parent in prison. These are children that are 20% more likely to suffer from poor mental health and may only get to see their family member once every couple months or twice a year in some cases due to overcrowding.

Additionally, family day sign-ups are low at prisons nationwide, but HMP Gartree informed us that when LAT visited with an advertised puppet show and craft workshop, they received applications from 33 families as opposed to their usual average of 5 sign ups. Proving that these fun, interactive family day sessions we deliver are crucial for maintaining emotional well-being and fostering a sense of normalcy and support for children; transforming a potentially scary or intimidating visit to a prison into a constructive and enjoyable experience.

‘When Little Angel attended our family day, the children were able to tell their friends that they watched a show at the weekend with their adult, making their experience feel more normal and creating lasting memories.’
– Prison Officer, HMP Pentonville.

For incarcerated adults, we want to improve their social integration with the outside world by creating a meaningful space for families to reconnect. Research from the Ministry of Justice shows that those who receive visits from family are 39% less likely to re-offend. This new Suitcase Theatre project helps foster a space for memory-building and personal interaction, increasing this sense of connection with adults’ families and the outside world, making adults less likely to re-offend and children more likely to hold happy memories of their incarcerated family members.

‘Coming together on days like this are worth their weight in gold. I’m a lifer, so its days like this that I look forward to. My niece is normally so shy when she comes to see me, but today she was brought right out of her shell and it helped me too!’
–Paula, 40, an inmate at HMP Foston Hall

In summer of 2025, we were able to spend the time developing the newest Suitcase Show, Bobbin’s Big Adventure! Based on children and families’ ideas of a wanting quest-like, pantomime style show that could entertain and inform people of all ages and backgrounds, Bobbin’s Big Adventure is an interactive puppet show about courage, curiosity… and crisps!

‘When a child reaches half the age of 12 / They must go on an adventure and find themselves! / Thistlehorn family members have been going on quests for years / All finding out who they are and facing their fears.’

The playful, heart-warming adventure is guided by two mischievous jesters who narrate our story as we join Bobbin on their quest, facing tricky trolls, mysterious riddles and most importantly, their own worst critic, themselves! Throughout their adventure, Bobbin learns that bravery isn’t all about being fearless but more importantly about believing in yourself, embracing your differences, and knowing that asking for help does not make you weak. As we journey along with Bobbin, their once empty shield becomes adorned with symbols and objects that represent the lessons they learn and the quest reaches its peak with a musical lesson in why you should never judge a dragon by its roar! Packed with action, laughter, and plenty of chances for the audience to join in, Bobbin’s Big Adventure speaks to people no matter the age. It teaches self-soothing tactics such as ‘when you start to feel stressed, take three deep breathes, and you’ll be back to your best’ that can be remembered and repeated by children and adults alike, as well as catchy songs and rhymes throughout.

‘It was such a valuable and healing experience for our men and their children… What was especially moving was observing how entranced some of our men were, independently of their children’s engagement. Some of these men have never experienced gentle, positive messages of how to have courage and dealing with feelings of anxiety. Re-parenting themselves is an important part of their healing journey, and being allowed to experience the nurture and compassion of these valuable artistic experiences makes such a difference. Little Angels was of massive benefit to the children but also to the men. Allowing them to be vulnerable and engaged with their families.’
– Delia Harvey-Rikh, PACT Family Engagement Officer, HMP Standford Hill

So far, we have toured Bobbins Big Adventure to five prisons in the Kent area – HMP Swaleside, HMP Standford Hill, HMP Maidstone, HMP Cookham Wood and HMP Rochester – reaching around 125 audience members including prison staff, families and PACT officers. It was incredible to finally perform this show to its targeted audience and watch how engaged families became with Bobbin! Despite some initial hesitation from audiences members as we set up our stage and clowned around, by the end of the 35 minute story audiences were grinning from ear to ear, joining in and laughing together. We were able to bring such a bright, optimistic energy to an environment that can often feel sad and lonely, and it was very clear how grateful and valuable the families found the show, connecting with each of them in different ways. Plus, following the show, families got to make their own puppets from craft materials we had provided, allowing them to channel their inner puppet makers and puppeteers, taking inspiration from Bobbin’s Big Adventure and creating their own stories with their families. Memories like this will last a life time.

‘I’ve never seen my son so transfixed… He absolutely loved it, I’ll have to buy him a puppet when we get home’
– Parent at HMP Standford Hill

In the New Year will tour to five more prisons based in the East Midlands as a result of more generous funding we have received. In the future, we hope to be able to take this incredible project to as many prisons as possible, re-visiting locations we visited during the R&D stage, such as HMP Gartree, HMP Doncaster and HMP Foston Hall as well as sharing the magic and wonder of puppetry at prisons we haven’t previously visited.

Suitcase Theatre demonstrates the profound impact that high-quality, carefully considered artistic experiences can have when they are taken directly to those who need them most. By centring co-creation, child agency, respite and connection, this work not only brings moments of joy and normality into challenging environments, but also supports emotional wellbeing, strengthens family bonds and creates lasting memories. As Bobbin’s Big Adventure continues to tour, and as Suitcase Theatre grows to reach new communities, this strand remains a vital expression of Little Angel

Theatre’s mission: to break down barriers, address inequality in access to the arts, and ensure that the magic of puppetry is available to everyone, wherever they are.

Credits:
Project Manager, Writer and Performer: Vivienne Melody Coupe
Director: Oliver Hymans
Designer: Daniel Southwell
Performer: Mima Beauchamp
Composer: Jessie Maryon Davies
Photos: Ellie Kurtz