Puppetry threads through London this summer, from the West End to some of its smallest stages and biggest screens. With something for all ages, expect prehistoric encounters, wandering forest spirits and intricately crafted marionettes.
At Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, Dinosaur World Live (to 6 Sep) returns by popular demand, inviting audiences into a roarsome landscape populated by lifesize puppet dinosaurs. Designed as an interactive adventure for younger audiences, the show brings a T. rex, Triceratops and more into a traditional theatre setting, with performers animating each creature on stage. Budding palaeontologists will love the post-show meet and greet where children can encounter the puppets up close. Having toured across the US, China and Australia, this popular production is dino-mite for kids aged three and over.
A short journey across the city to the Gillian Lynne Theatre, where My Neighbour Totoro continues its West End run, adapting Studio Ghibli’s celebrated film into an award-winning stage production built around intricate puppetry and live music. Following sisters Satsuki and Mei as they adjust to life in rural Japan, the story opens into a world of magical spirits, including the towering figure of Totoro and the ever-present Catbus. It’s an enchanting coming-of-age story that works just as well for newcomers as it does for fans of the film.
In Islington, meanwhile, Little Angel Theatre marks 65 years of dedicated puppetry practice with its Children’s Puppet Festival (to 30 Aug), a programme spanning everything from ocean journeys in At Sea (to 2 Aug), to flying birds in Puffling Percy (11–12 Aug), and the marionette-filled The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (22–30 Aug). With a long-standing focus on puppetry as both storytelling and hands-on craft, this delightful theatre also hosts Playcation days, where kids can design and build their own puppets before bringing them to life on stage.
Finally, puppets move beyond the stage at BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX, where the No Strings Attached: Puppets on Film season (to 31 Aug) revisits everything from The Dark Crystal and The Muppets Take Manhattan to Team America: World Police, alongside talks exploring the legacy of the iconic Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and contemporary makers working in the medium.
SAM ROGG
