Issue 34 has arrived! The New Puppet Notebook Has Arrived!

Celebrating Issue 34 — what’s inside, who made it happen, and how to contribute to the next edition

We’re thrilled to share the brand-new Puppet Notebook – Issue 34 (Summer 2026), a rich and joyful collection of articles, reflections, photography and puppetry insights from across the UK and beyond.

A note from the editor:
This issue opens with A Giraffe on a Glacier, a reflection by Isobel Dyson who was part of the most celebrated large-scale puppet work of the last couple of years, The Herds. This is followed by Daisy Jordan’s Magnifying through Miniature, a discussion of her experience making a Teatro Lambe Lambe show, exploring how memory and creative practice intersect in this intimate medium.

Ivan Thorley’s article, Zee and the City, takes us through the process of creating a giant puppet character to embody something of the spirit of Bradford when it became UK City of Culture in 2025. In Small Steps in to Giant Puppetry, Tom Cleaver gives us an insight into the work which goes into creating giant puppet work; here at Puppet Notebook, all contributions are gratefully received, though we get surprisingly few pieces like this, with a focus on making, materials and methods.

Next, we have Caroline Astell-Burt’s beautifully phenomenological piece on how she experienced creating a dancer puppet out of wet clay, and then how others experienced the process/performance. In I Love Judy, Anastasia Puppis & Léandre Simioni detail their reimagining of Punch and Judy practice into a more revolutionary production Judy and Punch.

This is followed by a quick Q&A with puppet designer and maker Max Humphries, whose aptitude for large-scale work fits very well with his latest project, Dinosaur World Live! The intersection of large-scale puppetry and environmental activism is explored in Shannon Ryle’s thoughtful piece on how we can create puppet work which is sustainable and ecologically sound.

The issue is rounded out with a preview of Frances Barry and Hester Heeler-Frood’s new film, Untangling, which explores the lifelong artistic devotion of six puppet artists who will be known to most of this readership. Keep an eye out for it at the festivals. It looks great!