Smethwick Puppetry Festival Returns – February 2026
From dragons in Warley Woods to crankie storytelling and family puppet shows – a joyful week of puppetry returns this February
BrUNIMA is absolutely thrilled to see the Smethwick Puppetry Festival back for 2026 – and especially excited that several of our members will be part of the programme! Our very own committee member and Membership guru, Zannie, will be performing in The Stars in the Sky with Luminous Tales, and we’re also proud to see BrUNIMA member company Noisy Oyster bringing their brilliant show The Three Billy Pigs to the festival.
After its much-loved previous editions, it’s wonderful to see this celebration of puppetry returning to the Black Country from 14–22 February. With the festival now only a few weeks away, anticipation is definitely building! Scroll down for the full press release and programme details.
The 2026 edition is set to be the biggest yet, with performances, workshops and an exhibition from some of the UK’s leading puppetry theatre companies.
All events are Pay What You Can, in community venues in Smethwick and Bearwood.
Smethwick Puppetry Festival returns this February half-term, with a packed programme that includes dragons in Warley Woods, puppet shows for kids, music inspired by the canals and an exhibition of ‘crankie’ storytelling devices.
The festival, which will run during February half term (14–22 February 2026), will see events happening across Smethwick and Bearwood, with performances by the UK’s leading professional puppetry theatre companies.
Families will love After the Rain by Sabotage Theatre, with gentle storytelling, singing snails and lots of messy puddles. There’s a slapstick children’s puppet show, The Librarian, and a new take on The Three Little Pigs from Noisy Oyster.
The Stars in the Sky is an adventurous romp through the wild beasts of the stars, whilst Up Jumped The Crab is a charming puppet show in miniature showing a day at sea with the real Cromer crab fishermen of North Norfolk.
Be sure to head to Warley Woods on 19 February to meet Charlie, The Dragon Keeper, who will be roaming around with his pet dragons. Fans of myth and fairytales will also enjoy the classic tale of The Elves and the Shoemaker.
Puppets are not just for kids. This year, there’s a puppet-making workshop for grown-ups from Tat Vision in 1000 Trades on the Park, and an evening of song and stories inspired by the canals from Three Idle Women.
Artists and storytellers Bronia Evers and Peter Stevenson present a special exhibition at Thimblemill Library, showing her beautifully crafted ‘crankie’ scrolls. This is a unique story-telling device that will captivate visitors of all ages.
New for 2026 is the first ever Smethwick Puppetry Festival Scratch Night, giving audiences a chance to see extracts of brand-new work from emerging and established puppetry artists.
Thanks to the generous support of The Players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, Arts Council England and Sandwell Council, this year’s festival is entirely Pay What You Can.
Smethwick Puppetry Festival will take place in community venues across Smethwick and Bearwood, including Dorothy Parkes Centre, Smethwick Library and Thimblemill Library.
The festival is presented by Black Country Touring.
Genevieve Say from Black Country Touring comments:
“We’re delighted to welcome people to the third Smethwick Puppetry Festival, which continues to grow in scale, ambition and reputation across Smethwick and the wider Black Country. What began as a small pilot has quickly become a much-loved part of February half-term, bringing families, children and communities together for a week of joy, laughter and incredible artistry.”
For more details and to book tickets, visit:
www.bctouring.org.uk/puppet
Listings Information
Smethwick Puppetry Festival
14–22 February 2026
Join us for some wonderful puppet shows for families, performances for adults, puppetry workshops, exhibitions and more, all taking place across community venues in Smethwick and Bearwood during February half term.
All events are Pay What You Can.
The Smethwick Puppetry Festival is presented by Black Country Touring, with funding from Players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, Arts Council England and Sandwell Council.
Book tickets: www.bctouring.org.uk/puppet
Smethwick Puppetry Festival Opening Celebration
Celebrate the opening of Smethwick Puppetry Festival with an afternoon of puppet fun!
Experience close-up magic as Tatwood Puppets present Count Ocular, transporting us back to the bizarre delights of vaudeville and variety. Expect mini crankie performances of Blast Off!, and Animus Puppetry bring their wild walkabout animals. Plus the official opening of the festival and crankie exhibition at 5pm.
Sat 14 February, 3–6pm (drop-in)
Thimblemill Library, Thimblemill Road, Smethwick B67 5RJ
Suitable for everyone
Pay What You Can
All Hands Together – Three Idle Women
An evening of songs, stories and harmony that carry audiences through time, along the waterways of the UK. With their deep connections to place, landscape and nature, Three Idle Women celebrate characters from the canals, both past and present. Expect a blend of high-quality music with interactive story-telling, visuals and films along with a crankie, a wonderful story-telling contraption.
Sun 15 February, 5pm (90 mins)
Dorothy Parkes Centre, Church Road, Smethwick B67 6EH
Suitable for ages 5+
Pay What You Can
After the Rain – Sabotage Theatre
Let your little ones’ imaginations run wild when you join intrepid Ivy’s adventures in this muddy, musical puppet show.
Ivy can’t wait for it to stop raining so she can go out and jump in some puddles! When she answers a call for help from a stranded worm, she sets off on a journey through the forest where she meets all the weird and wonderful creatures that love to come out when it’s wet.
Sabotage Theatre’s bold puppetry and original music – including a barbershop quartet of singing snails, honky tonk blues solo and scar punk band – are complimented by playful storytelling and gentle guided audience interaction to inspire curious minds and intrepid explorers.
Mon 16 Feb, 3pm (45 mins)
St Hilda’s Church, 269 Abbey Road, Smethwick, Sandwell B67 5NW
Tue 17 Feb, 1pm (45 mins)
Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (Floor 5 gallery), Grove Lane, Smethwick, Sandwell B66 2QT
Presented in partnership with Spectra
Suitable for ages 3+
Pay What You Can
A Thread Falls From My Hand – Antonella D’Ascenzi
A woman and a puppet inhabit the urban space, reconstructing the symbolic gestures of other women who have inhabited it before them. The bodies are linked by threads and this link is the beginning of the dance and of a story that is made and unmade.
A Thread Falls From My Hand is a reflection on memory and its knots...
Tue 17 February, 6.30pm (40 mins)
Hurst Road Community Centre, Hurst Road, Smethwick, Sandwell B67 6ND
Suitable for ages 5+
Pay What You Can
Oakheart and the Wonder Scrolls – One Moment In Time & Bronia Evers
A girl in search of her missing heart...
Wed 18 February, 11am (50 mins)
Thimblemill Library, Thimblemill Road, Smethwick B67 5RJ
Suitable for ages 8+
Pay What You Can
The Librarian – Helen and John
Wed 18 February, 1.30pm (60 mins)
Bearwood Community Hub, Rawlings Road, Smethwick B67 5AD
Suitable for ages 5+
Pay What You Can
The Three Billy Pigs – Noisy Oyster
Wed 18 February, 1.30pm (45 mins)
Lightwoods House, Adkins Lane, Smethwick B67 5DP
Suitable for ages 3+
Pay What You Can
The Stars in the Sky – Luminous Tales
Thu 19 February, 1pm (50 mins)
Brasshouse Community Centre, Brasshouse Lane, Smethwick B66 1BA
Suitable for ages 3+
Pay What You Can
The Dragon Keeper – Keep Drawing, Charlie!
Thu 19 February, 2–3.30pm (drop-in)
Warley Woods, Lightwoods Hill, Smethwick
Suitable for all the family
Pay What You Can
Smethwick Puppetry Festival Scratch Night
Fri 20 February, 4pm (120 mins)
Thimblemill Library
Suitable for ages 5+
Pay What You Can
Up Jumped The Crab – Crooked Timber Theatre
Sat 21 February, 11.30am (45 mins)
Midland Metropolitan University Hospital
Suitable for all the family
Pay What You Can
Tat Vision
Cardboard Puppet Workshop
Sat 21 February, 3–6pm – 16+
The Prison Puppet Show
Sat 21 February, 7.30pm – 16+
1000 Trades in the Park
The Elves and the Shoemaker – Grandly Strange Puppet Theatre
Sun 22 February, 2pm (45 mins)
Smethwick Library
Suitable for ages 3+
Pay What You Can
Exhibition: The Crankie Forest – Bronia Evers & Peter Stevenson
Sat 14 – Fri 20 February
Thimblemill Library
Free
Scrap Bats & Butterflies Puppet-making Workshop – Animus Puppetry
Sun 15 February, 11am–3pm (drop-in)
West Smethwick Park Pavilion
Suitable for ages 7+
Pay What You Can