BrUNIMA Newsletter – June 2026
British UNIMA AGM next week — plus events, opportunities and international puppetry news
Dear British UNIMA Members and Friends,
Our Annual General Meeting is now just over a week away, and we would love to see as many of you there as possible.
Join us online or in person on Sunday 14 June 2026 at the Puppet Barge, where the AGM will be accompanied by a festival of Lambe Lambe performance.
This is a chance to hear about British UNIMA’s activities over the past year, look ahead to our plans for the coming year, see the shows created during PuppetSoup’s Lambe Lambe course, and vote on upcoming appointments and decisions.
If you are planning to attend, make sure you RSVP as soon as possible so we can confirm numbers and make sure everything is in place. You can find the agenda, papers to read in advance, and voting information on our website.
We would be very grateful if members could join us and help support the organisation at this important annual meeting.
Congratulations to Theatre-Rites on their 30th anniversary, and to Sue Buckmaster on her award. Sue very kindly recorded a film for us during World Puppetry Day, where Sue speaks so positively about the power of puppetry, if you haven´t seen it yet, click here.
Little Angel Theatre is also celebrating its 65th anniversary with a marionette revival project.
👉 More info
We are also looking forward to sharing the next issue of Puppet Notebook, which will be available soon in both digital and printed form.
Further down, you’ll find a packed round-up of upcoming puppetry events, festivals, open calls, residencies and international opportunities — including several deadlines coming up soon.
There is genuinely something here for everyone, whether you are a maker, researcher, venue manager, teacher, student, volunteer, or someone just beginning to find your way into the field.
From BrUNIMA
AGM – Save the Date
Our Annual General Meeting will take place on Sunday 14 June 2026, and all members are warmly invited to attend either in person or online.
The AGM is an important moment in the BrUNIMA year. It is where we report back to members, share plans, vote on key matters, and shape the future direction of the organisation together.
Celebrating 97 years of international puppetry connection
Last month, 20 May, marks the 97th anniversary of UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionnette) — the international organisation for puppetry arts, founded in Prague in 1929.
As the British Centre of UNIMA, we are proud to celebrate this milestone alongside colleagues, members and puppetry communities around the world.
For nearly a century, UNIMA has helped connect puppeteers, makers, performers, educators, researchers, festivals and organisations across borders, strengthening international exchange and supporting puppetry in all its forms.
UNIMA International has begun sharing early ideas for the journey toward UNIMA’s 100th anniversary in 2029, which will culminate in Prague, the city where UNIMA was founded.
Early proposals include:
🎭 International exhibitions and events
📚 Archiving and documenting puppetry histories
🌍 Global collaborations between National Centres
🎵 A call for a UNIMA Centenary Song
📝 Future publications and documentary projects
BrUNIMA dates for the diary
Thursday 13th August 2026, 7pm
BrUNIMA Puppet Film Night
Grab your popcorn join us online for a screening of puppet films selected by BrUNIMA members.
Coming soon…
Thursday 10th September 2026, 7pm
Visual Theatre and Contemporary Puppetry: Material, Metaphor and Pedagogy
Join Sean Myatt and Yun Geng in conversation about contemporary puppetry and visual theatre as practices of material thinking, embodied performance and theatrical meaning-making.
Coming soon…
Other Events & Opportunities
Giants on the Move: A Puppet Street Parade
📅From 7 June 12.45–13.15, 15.15–15.45
👉More info
Extreme Puppet Making, Make a Puppet and Bring it to Life with Blind Summit
📅8-10 June 2026
👉More info
Extreme Puppet Training, Advanced Technique Workshop with Blind Summit
📅11-13 June 2026
👉More info
Bristol Experimental Puppet Festival 2026
📅5-14 June 2026
📍All over Bristol
👉More info
Skupa’s Pilsen International Festival of Puppet and Alternative Theatre 2026
📅 Festival: June 10–14, 2026
👉 More info
Nottingham Puppet Festival
Saturday 27 June - Sunday 5 July
👉More info
Online Q&A with Neil Sterenberg – British Puppet Guild
Thursday 3 July | Online
👉More info
NEW Jimmy Grimes Puppet workshops
Starting in July
👉More info
Little Angel Theatre Children’s Puppet Festival
📅28 July – 30 August 2026
👉 More info
Symposium #4 – Social Perspectives on Puppetry, Figures, and Animated Objects | Montemerano, Italy
📅 Dates: June 26–28, 2026 | 📍 Montemerano, Tuscany, Italy
👉 More info
Aladdin - marionette summer camp for ages 8-12 with Young People’s Puppet Theatre
📅27-31 July 2026
📍 St Albans, AL4 0JQ
👉 More info
Early bird price available until 15 April
Nuts and Bolts - Before you start…
📅4 August 2026 - Online - 7:00 – 8:00pm
👉More info
Puppet Fringe Festival New York
📅12 - 16 August, Lower East Side New York City
👉More info
Bring the Inanimate to Life: A Bold Dive into Contemporary Puppetry
17–21 August 2026 | Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow | £610 | Ages 16+
👉More info
Fairy Tales Exhibition Coming To The British Library This Spring
Thrilled to announce that The Little Angel Theatre have some of their puppets on display at a landmark new exhibition at the British Library.
📅Now on until 23 August 2026
📍 Fairy Tales is at the British Library.
Tickets are £13.50 (peak) and £11.50 (off-peak), with concessions available.
👉More info
Kasper & Friends go UNESCO – Survey and Network Meeting
A new initiative, Kasper & Friends go UNESCO, is working to highlight the shared tradition of comic glove puppetry figures across Europe and explore a possible future inscription on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
The working group is inviting puppeteers, theatre practitioners, researchers and heritage specialists to contribute to an initial survey mapping existing traditions, current theatre practice, research and national heritage initiatives.
📅 Online network meeting on 15 June 2026 at 3pm
📅 Survey deadline: 30 June 2026
📝 Brief answers or keywords are welcome
📧 Contact: doku@fidena.de
There will also be an online network meeting on 15 June 2026 at 3pm CET, looking more closely at Kasper and discussing how comic figures in European glove puppetry might be defined.
👉 More info
Newcastle Puppetry Festival 2027
Prospective dates: 3rd–11th April 2027
👉 More info
OPEN CALLS
Conference “Comical Types in Puppet Theater”
The international conference will take place on June 18–19, 2026 at the Osnabrück Puppet Theater. Registration closes on 14 June.
📨The deadline for registration is 14 June 2026.
👉 More info
Open Call: SHORTIES 26/27 in Stuttgart
Short-form works from the Stuttgart area are sought for the upcoming season of the series organized by FITZ, Stuttgarter Filmwinter and PZ.
📨The deadline for applications is 15 June 2026.
👉 More info
Magdeburg Puppet Theater seeks artistic director from 2028
📨The deadline for applications is 26 June 2026.
👉 More info
32nd International Festival of Puppet Theatres and Forms “Meetings”
📨 Applications due by June 12, 2026
📅 Festival: 17-21 October 2026
👉 More info
Exhibiting Puppets on 11 October 2026
🗓Deadline for submissions 15 June 2026
👉More info
Puppetry Residency in Greece
📅 Application deadline 9 July 2026
👉 More info
Call for Contributions: UNIMAgazine #2
📅 Deadline: July 15, 2026 | 📍 unimagazine@unima.org
👉More info
OPEN CALL - Puppet Camp in Boneka
September 25 - October 11 2026 | 📍Indonesia
🗓Application Deadline: 4th August 2025
👉 More info and apply
📅 Application deadline 31 August 2026
Charleville-Mézières World Puppet Theatre Festival – Programming Update
The Charleville-Mézières World Puppet Theatre Festival will no longer run its traditional open call for show submissions starting with the 2027 edition.
Artists wishing to share work with the programming team can send materials to:
📧 programmation2027@marionnette.com
The festival programme focuses primarily on new works created within the previous two years, presenting an international snapshot of contemporary puppetry.
👉 More info
📢 Open Call for Museums & Collections
Questionnaire for the Directory of Puppet Museums and Puppet Collections
🎭 Organized by: UNIMA International Heritage Commission
📝 Complete the questionnaire: fill out the form here
✉️ Contact: heritage@unima.org
Step inside Puppet Fringe Festival New York
This documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of Puppet Fringe Festival New York, celebrating the artists, performances and community that bring this international puppetry festival to life.
Puppet Fringe Festival New York
12 - 16 August, Lower East Side New York City
More info
Thank you, as always, for your support. Whether you are a paid member, free subscriber, volunteer, contributor, or reader, your involvement helps keep British UNIMA active, connected and visible.
Warm wishes,
British UNIMA