Puppet & Storytelling Festival: Free Bird Puppet Workshop
Make your own winged birds with puppet and animation expert Phylida Hickish. Bring your new flapping feathered friends along to Bermondsey Spa Gardens on 12 July and join in with a performance by Brazilian storyteller Marianna Portella.
Make bird puppet using Phylida’s templates and coloured paper that can be decorated with patterned fabric and paper offcuts and then flown around. They are very simple designs that ensure anyone of any ability or puppetry experience can join in!
Our professional artist Phyllida Hickish is ready to help you make a magical puppet bird from recyled materials. Everything you need will be provided.
The birds made at this event will be used at at our grand finale celebration in Bermondsey Spa Gardens on 12th July.
Phylida Hickish
Phylly is a theatre maker and facilitator who loves sharing traditional crafts and puppetry with her local community! She is currently fascinated by crankie boxes, whirligigs, and eels.
Bermondsey Puppet & Storytelling Festival 2026
A new family-friendly community festival is coming to Bermondsey in summer 2026. Bermondsey Puppet & Storytelling Festival will feature free puppetry and storytelling workshops across local schools, community venues and public spaces, leading to a lively outdoor celebration in Bermondsey Spa Gardens on Sunday 12 July, 12–5pm.
The finale will showcase community-made puppets alongside headline performances from internationally renowned storytellers including Usifu Jalloh, Emily Hanna, Marrianna Portello and Bernadette Russell. All events are free and open to all ages.
Find out more:
https://bermondsey.london/events/puppet-storytelling-festival-2026-bermondsey/
What to expect at the workshops
Free public workshops will take place across local venues and outdoor spaces, including sessions at The Blue Market and the finale in Bermondsey Spa Gardens. Led by professional storytellers and puppeteers, these hands-on sessions invite people of all ages to create puppets, share stories and learn the techniques that bring puppetry and storytelling to life. Participants can contribute ideas and creations towards the final community celebration. No experience is needed — just curiosity and imagination. Take home your creations and then bring them along to Bermondsey Spa Gardens on Sunday 12 July 12 – 5pm and join in with our finale show!
- Free drop-in workshop activity 12pm – 3pm
- All ages welcome
- Disabled accessible
- Seating available
- Market open with places to eat and drink nearby
How to get there?
By bus
1, 381, P12
By train
South Bermondsey, Canada Water
By tube
Bermondsey
By car
Parking on St James Road (2 hour maximum). Free street parking available at weekends, please check signs for local restrictions.
Accessibility
Blue Market is an outdoor space all on one level with wide entrances, suitable for pushchair, wheelchairs and mobility vehicles. Seating available. Disabled access toilets in Blue Anchor Library.