Nottingham Puppet Festival will return this summer for its fourth edition, with performances, workshops, screenings and free events taking place across the city from Saturday 27 June to Sunday 5 July 2026.
The city-wide festival is an Arts Council England-funded partnership between Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall and City Arts, with events planned in libraries, community centres, cinemas, theatres and public spaces.
One of the main events will be City Centre Day on Saturday 27 June, when free performances and walkabout acts will take place between 10.30am and 4.30pm. The programme will run from Nottingham Central Library and Lister Gate, through Albert Street and up to Old Market Square.
Visitors can expect large-scale puppets and street performances, including a giant Mountain Hare, Kantaben the Roller Bird and kinetic sculptures such as a four-metre-tall Worker Bee. Family shows throughout the day will include Penny and the Far Thing and Wild Beasts of Silly.
Alison Denholm, Nottingham Puppet Festival Director, said: “We are delighted to be presenting the fourth Nottingham Puppet Festival this summer, where once again, we will bring puppets of all shapes and sizes into all sorts of spaces across our city.
“When we ask ourselves, ‘Why puppets?’, we keep coming back to the answer that puppets are so good at telling stories about what it is to be human. We hope this festival brings joy, magic and wonder into our everyday, for children and adults alike.”
The programme also includes stage productions across the city. Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile will be at the Theatre Royal from 2 to 5 July, while the Royal Concert Hall will host Robin Hood and his Animal Friends, an immersive adventure focused on teamwork and environmental care.
Lakeside Arts will host Fly Away Katie, a show for children aged two to seven based on the book by Polly Dunbar. The Squire Performing Arts Centre will welcome French company La Salamandre with Un Ocean d’Amour, a wordless sea-faring performance created through paper-folding techniques.
Nottingham Playhouse will also host an open weekend featuring Summer In Bloom, an immersive multi-sensory experience set in the legendary land of the Magical Major Oak, alongside exhibitions and workshops.
The festival will work with Bamboozle Theatre Company and Lakeside Arts, University of Nottingham, on inclusive programming on Sunday 5 July. The sessions are designed for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities and include The River, an immersive journey meeting local wildlife, and a Family Sensory Picnic with songs and puppetry in a relaxed setting.
The adult programme includes the return of the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppets and Blind Summit Theatre’s The Sex Lives of Puppets. Talks, workshops and screenings will also feature, including a screening of Fantastic Mr Fox at Broadway Cinema followed by a Q&A with stop-motion animator Richard Pickersgill.
There will also be a film puppetry masterclass with Lucasfilm’s Martin Rezard at Nottingham Trent University’s Waverley Studio, and an event at Broadway Cinema exploring puppetry and climate activism with The Walk Productions, creators of The Herds.
Suzannah Bedford, CEO and Creative Director of City Arts Nottingham, said: “City Arts is proud to be a lead partner in Nottingham Puppet Festival, bringing the festival to communities across the city. Puppetry is a welcoming, accessible artform that connects people of all ages.
“With free events and local activity, the festival creates opportunities to take part, share experiences and enjoy high-quality arts together.”
Ahead of the main festival, The Giant Who Slept for Ten Thousand Years, Tales from the Wheelbarrow and Anansi and the Lost Sun will tour local libraries and community centres from 23 May.
Liz Johnson, Midlands Area Director at Arts Council England, said the organisation was proud to support the festival using National Lottery funding.
She said: “This joyful celebration of puppetry and storytelling will bring people and communities together to share experiences of wonder and delight. It will animate the city centre with enjoyment, energy and colour and is a great example of how creativity and culture can help us feel happier and proud of places that we call home.”
Alex Flint, CEO of It’s In Nottingham, said: “At It’s in Nottingham, we believe in the importance of creativity and celebrating the arts. Through performances, talks and workshops, the Puppet Festival is a display of joy and storytelling that we are proud to support.
“Nottingham has a wealth of cultural venues, and the Puppet Festival is the perfect opportunity for visitors and residents alike to explore them and enjoy the vibrant city centre.”
