Featuring puppet shows for children and families, performances for teens and adults, interactive puppetry workshops, an exhibition and more, the Smethwick Puppetry Festival takes place in community venues in Smethwick and Bearwood: West Smethwick Park, Smethwick Library, Dorothy Parkes Centre, Thimblemill Library, Brushstrokes Community Project, Lightwoods House and Bearwood Baptist Hall.

All events are either free or pay what you can, which means that you choose how much to pay for your ticket.

Some of the UK’s leading puppetry theatre companies will perform, including Indigo Moon Theatre who perform their eco-inspired tale SeedHeart at Bearwood Baptist Church on Valentine’s Day. London-based puppeteer Lori Hopkins comes to Lightwoods House on 15th February with her take on the famous tale of Laika The Space Dog, and Lempen Theatre perform Flotsam and Jetsam at Smethwick Library on 17th February, an adventure story about two very different characters that must learn to work together. As well as performances, there are puppetry workshops and an installation, made especially to appeal to children and young people.

Frances Land from Black Country Touring explained, “Puppetry is a billiant way of introducing children to the world of story-telling and theatre; it sparks the imagination and everyone loves it! We’re delighted to bring some of the country’s leading puppeteers to Smethwick for this festival. All of the performances, workshops and the exhibition are either free or pay-what-you-can, and the performances are happening in local libraries and community centres, which should take some of the stress away for busy families who want to come along. We’re looking forward to a fun, laid-back festival for half-term week.”