About us

Curious School of Puppetry’s mission is to be a centre for puppetry arts, nurturing an inclusive sector and developing the art form through training, convening and advocacy.

Our vision is for a nationally celebrated and thriving puppetry sector that is collaborative, open and inclusive, recognised internationally for its rigour and innovation. We believe puppetry connects people across cultures and communities, and empowers everyone to use their imagination with confidence.

As an artist-led organisation, Curious delivers its work with integrity, dynamism and transparency. We value experimentation, rigour, care and proactive inclusivity.

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Welcome to Curious School of Puppetry, a training programme for adults who are seeking to expand their professional work and creative practice with the art of puppetry. Founded in 2015 by Sarah Wright, our national touring school is artist-led and focuses on puppetry performance, theatre making, and collaboration. Curious has reached various locations across the UK; the school has been run in London, Edinburgh and Falmouth, and we have facilitated workshops in Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester, Bradford, Truro, Chichester, Leeds, Leicester, Glasgow, Dublin and Galway. Our course is taught by professional puppeteers, directors and artists who bring a variety of approaches and practices into the studio.

We believe in diversifying and enriching the puppetry sector and have developed three community strands to support this vision: Get Curious, Curious Professional and Still Curious. Our Get Curious strand is tailored for artists new to puppetry, with a specific focus on diversity and inclusion. Curious Professional is an eight-week intensive professional training course, and our Still Curious strand is a supportive alumni network of peer-to-peer knowledge sharing.

At the Curious School of Puppetry, we believe that puppetry is a medium through which we can explore new ways of creating, communicating and understanding the world around us. Join us and become part of a community of curious and creative individuals who are passionate about puppetry and its possibilities.

Film by Brett Harvey with music by Tim Dalling

  • “The Curious School of Puppetry is contributing greatly to the enrichment of the art form.”

    Sue Buckmaster - Artistic Director, Theatre-Rites

  • "Curious School of Puppetry offers exceptional opportunities for those wanting to access training and professional development, which are relevant, respond directly to this need and are vitally important to the continuing growth of puppetry in England"

    Joy Haynes - Director, Norwich Puppet Theatre

  • "Sarah Wright has assembled a stellar team of teachers, practitioners and leaders in their fields"

    Emma Rice - Artistic Director, Wise Children

The Team

Sarah Wright – Artistic Director

Jemima Yong - Producer

Joy Haynes – Producer

Teo Greenstreet – Organisational Development Director

Tim Sykes – Production

with support from the freelance Still Curious team: Jummy Faruq, Edie Edmundson, Nix Wood, Louise Mellor, Pippa Church and Emma King

Patrons

Lyndie Wright MBE - Founder of Little Angel Theatre 

Sean Keohane

Charity Trustees

Matt Armstrong – Head of Policy and Strategic Funding at National Theatre

Charlotte Crow – Operations Supervisor and Product Development at Martin Randall Travel

Mervyn Millar – Puppeteer, Writer, Director of Significant Object

Sam Morley – Co Director of Development at Old Vic Theatre

Sarah Wright – Puppeteer and Puppet Director

Jemima Yong – Performance maker and Photographer

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Founded in 2015 by Wingwomen Ltd:

Sarah Wright, Charlotte Crow, Lou Bashall

In memory of

Christopher Leith – Director, Master Puppeteer and Mentor

Penny Francis MBE – Founder of the Puppet Centre Trust

Press