Queer Theatre Puppetry Masterclass:
Exploring Queer Stories & Identities Through the Art of Puppetry
Our Puppetry Masterclass welcomed beginners and professionals for a hands-on exploration of how to bring objects to life on stage. After tea, coffee and snacks on arrival, the session began at 7pm with an introduction to puppetry as a global art form, tracing its use in storytelling, its ability to transcend human limitations, and its potential to reflect and challenge the world around us.
Participants learnt the core principles of puppetry, including breath and focus, stillness, isolation of movement, and how to direct an audience’s gaze. We explored how a puppet’s identity emerges through the puppeteer’s choices, physicality, and voice, as well as how the surrounding environment and other characters shape its behaviour.
Working in a physical ensemble, attendees practised synchronised movement, creating the illusion of shared breath and thought between puppeteers. The group experimented with different scales of performance; from subtle, intimate gestures to large, theatrical expressions — and discussed the emotional range that puppets can communicate.
The evening’s creative challenge involved working in small teams to devise original puppet characters from simple materials. These characters were then introduced to the rest of the group, each with their own distinct personality, movement vocabulary, and backstory.
A professional photographer, Boyan Georgiev captured the event, with a full gallery shared afterwards for everyone to use freely for their portfolios.
Our Puppetry Director: Abigail Matthews
Abigail has been working as a professional puppeteer since 2012, having learnt the skill whilst alternating the role of ‘Aslan’s Head’ in Rupert Goold’s production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which played in the 360 Degrees Theatre in Kensington Gardens. Since then, she has performed as an actor and puppeteer in War Horse (West End, Gillian Lynne), Goodnight Mister Tom (West End, Duke of York’s), The Butterfly Lion (The Barn Theatre, Cirencester) and most recently as Toto in The Wizard of Oz (West End, Gillian Lynne and UK Tour). She has worked alongside Vaudeville Productions and Selladoor Venues as puppetry consultant, participated in research and development with Little Angel Theatre and the Polka Theatre and is an associate performer at Puppets with Guts outdoor arts company. She has lead numerous workshops and masterclasses, teaching youngsters as little as 5, through to University students and industry professionals. Most recently she was puppetry director for Imagine Theatre’s Snow White at De Montfort Hall in Leicester.
