Smethwick Puppetry Festival
In February 2024, Black Country Touring presented the first-ever Smethwick Puppetry Festival, in partnership with West Smethwick Park Pavilion. The festival took place over half-term, from 11th to 18th February. There were puppet shows for families, performances for adults, puppetry workshops and an exhibition all across 7 community venues in Smethwick. The festival saw us expand our programming and access provisions, and we received an overwhelmingly positive response from the local community.
“Educational, uplifting and fun! Such a treat for the whole family. Opportunities like this are so very important for all adults and children.”
“Opportunities like this are so very important for all adults and children.”
Programme
Alongside puppet theatre shows, we expanded our programming for the festival with participatory workshops and an interactive exhibition. It was important to us that the performances reflected the diversity of Smethwick, so we reached out to diverse companies and performers beyond those who we’ve previously worked with.
Performances
East of the Sun, West of the Moon
By The Fetch Theatre Company
A spellbinding tale of adventure, mystery and romance, featuring a magical white bear, a young girl and a troll. Inspired by a traditional Nordic story.
Sunday 11th February 2024, 3pm
West Smethwick Park Pavilion
SeedHeart
By Indigo Moon Theatre
SeedHeart tells the important tale of human impact on the environment and questions what we can do to restore our once green planet, with interactive chaos along the way!
Wednesday 14th February 2024, 2pm
Bearwood Community Hub
Dangerous Dave
By Noisy Oyster
Dangerous Dave and his ridiculous sidekick Herbert Lemon present some of the most mind-bendingly silly stunts ever performed... ever!
Friday 16th February 2024, 2pm
Thimblemill Library
Mr Shadow
By Drew Colby
Meet Mr. Shadow and see all the things that Mr. Shadow can turn into! Beautiful creatures and funny little tales unfold as you discover Mr. Shadow is everybody’s friend.
Sunday 18th February 2024, 2:30pm
West Smethwick Park Pavilion
Anansi & The Lost Sun
By Swallow’s Wings Puppetry
A funny, inspiring and entertaining West African tale about bringing back the light and saving the world, mixing puppetry and traditional West African Music
Monday 12th February 2024, 3pm
Brushstrokes Community Project
Laika The Space Dog
By Lori Hopkins
Laika is an ordinary dog who went on an extraordinary journey into space. A lively show inspired by the true story of the first dog in space… with a twist!
Thursday 15th February 2024, 12pm & 2pm
Lightwoods House, Lightwoods Park
Pixiematosis
By The Object Project
A tale of tiny extraordinary creatures living in a nocturnal paradise who realise, far too late, that they are being exploited for a distinctly sinister purpose.
Friday 16th February 2024, 7pm
West Smethwick Park Pavilion
Special Delivery & Festival (double bill)
By A Bird In The Hand Theatre
A double bill of charming, friendly puppetry shows - a story about a postman who discovers a bit more about the people on his rounds, and a Chinese circus in minature.
Tuesday 13th February 2024, 3pm & 5pm
Dorothy Parkes Centre
I’m Glad I Asked (BSL interpreted)
By Michele O’Brien
A reflection of Michele’s experiences with her 91 year old mother Gena, represented by a life-sized puppet, and the impact Gena’s dementia had on their lives.
Thursday 15th February 2024, 7:30pm
Thimblemill Library
Flotsam and Jetsam
By Lempen Puppet Theatre Company
A hopeful adventure story about two very different creatures that are washed up on the same island and must learn to work together, with original music and delightful puppetry.
Saturday 17th February 2024, 1pm
Smethwick Library
Workshops
Scrunch Puppet Making Workshops
With The Fetch Puppet Theatre
Make your own scrunch puppet with The Fetch Theatre Company, then join the walkabout puppets in the park with your own creation! (Drop in sessions).
Sunday 11th February 2024, 11am - 2pm
West Smethwick Park Pavilion
SeedHeart Workshop
With Indigo Moon Theatre
Join Indigo Moon Theatre for a workshop exploring some of the techniques in their show ‘SeedHeart’, then stay for the afternoon performance to see them in action!
Wednesday 14th February 2024, 11:30am
Bearwood Baptist Church Hall
Mr Shadow Workshop
With Drew Colby
Following the performance of ‘Mr Shadow’, this workshop gives you the opportunity to learn some shadow puppetry techniques for yourself.
Sunday 18th February 2024, 3:30pm
West Smethwick Park Pavilion
Exhibition
The Noughty One
Installation by Noisy Oyster
Welcome to the mesmerising world of ‘The Noughty One’!
Immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of a hybrid world driven by technology and crafted with puppetry techniques. Get up close to the action… Who is in control and who is being manipulated? Is this replication or creation? What exactly is the story here?
The Noughty One is the latest creation from Noisy Oyster, a multi award-winning, international puppet theatre company. This installation fuses puppetry, automata, and robotics with 3D printing manufacture to explore our relationship with technology and the mercurial nature of the human world.
15th February - 17th February
10am - 5pm
Thimblemill Library
Pay What You Can
Ensuring that the ticket cost would not be a barrier to accessing the festival was important to us, particularly at a time where many local people are feeling the impact of the increasing cost of living. In order to keep the festival affordable for everyone, tickets for the festival events were ‘pay what you can’, meaning that audiences were able to choose how much to pay for their tickets. For audience members who didn’t feel able to pay, the performances were free. Audience members were also given the option to make donations on the day of the performance.
“Pay What You Can was useful due to current job issues and not being sure if we’d all make it. We were able to donate on the door.”
“Thank you for making this accessible and affordable.”
Access
We expanded our access provisions and trialled some new initiatives during the festival. Our access provisions included:
Relaxed Performances
All of the family-friendly performances during the festival were relaxed performances. There was an informal atmosphere, and audiences were able to move around the space while the performance was taking place. Relaxed performances help to enable engagement, reduce anxiety, and make performances more accessible to people with autism and sensory processing differences.
Relaxed Performance Packs
Fidget toys, ear defenders and blankets were available at every venue for audience members to use during the performances.
Carer Tickets
We provided free tickets to carers / personal assistants of audience members who needed to be accompanied to performances.
BSL interpretation
The performance of ‘I’m Glad I Asked’ at Thimblemill Library on Thursday 15th February was BSL interpreted.
Disabled access and toilets
All of our venues for the festival had disabled access and toilets.
Audiences
Over a thousand people attended the festival across the 17 events.
99% of audiences agreed or strongly agreed that they would come to something like this again.
98% of audiences agreed or strongly agreed that they felt welcomed and included.
93% of audiences agreed or strongly agreed that the event had a positive impact on their mental wellbeing.
86% of audiences agreed or strongly agreed that the event gave them the opportunity to access activities they otherwise would not have had access to.
Impact on the Local Community
The Smethwick Puppetry Festival was more than just a series of events. It was a catalyst for community building, bringing people together to experience the arts in their local venues. The festival also brought our individual promoters together to participate in a larger-scale event across Smethwick, fostering collaboration and a sense of unity among local organisers. Audience members felt a sense of community pride, and other local venues expressed in participating in the future. We intent to establish the festival as an annual event, and are planning a larger-scale return in February 2025 with an increased programme, indicating the positive impact of the festival on the local community and its potential for future growth.
“It is great to be able to see theatre in my local community. Also great to visit a community venue I haven’t been to before.”
“Great having local events and making good use of community spaces, especially during half term!”
Artists Feedback
“A huge thank you for this weekend - both performances were proof that there is such a need for the arts out there. I performed to two very full houses of lovely, appreciative people and I’m highly appreciative of the work BCT continues to do in bringing people and performances together - I feel that BCT is a bright light on the cultural horizon of Britain.”
“We really enjoyed our visit to Smethwick Library. The staff looking after us were lovely and the audiences were great. We loved seeing how supportive and community focused this library is. It really felt like we were at the heart of things in Smethwick. It will be fantastic if this festival can become established as a regular event.”
“My feedback from being a performer is all positive - I felt the communication before and during the event was excellent, all staff and volunteers were very welcoming and helpful and the venue was fabulous. I also saw three shows as an audience member and my family and I thought every were top quality, and it was great to see them all so well attended. ”
Presented by Black Country Touring in partnership with West Smethwick Park Pavilion, Lightwoods House, Friends of Thimblemill Library and Sandwell Libraries.
Made possible with funding from Arts Council England, Postcode Culture Trust and Sandwell Council.
