Venue: Norwich Puppet Theatre
Town: Norwich, GB

The Norwich Puppet Theatre is a nationally unique venue dedicated to puppetry. The theatre occupies the medieval church of St James the Less, Pockthorpe, a Grade I listed building, in Norwich, Norfolk, UK. It currently houses a 150-seat raked auditorium, a 50-seat studio, workshops, an exhibition gallery, a shop and a licensed bar. It is the only theatre in the eastern region of the UK which has a year-round programme of family-centred entertainment. It plays host to a variety of touring companies from the UK and overseas, and provides regular educational workshops for children and adults, as well as training opportunities for theatre practitioners. The theatre continues to be supported by Norfolk County Council and Norwich City Council along with contributions from foundations including: Garfield Weston Foundation, Geoffrey Watling, Norwich Town Close Estate and the John Jarrold Trust. The Norwich Puppet Theatre was founded in 1979 by Joan and Ray Da Silva (aka Ray Palma) as a permanent base for their touring company and was first opened as a public venue on 1 December 1980. They had run a puppet company touring overseas and had previously been based in Cambridgeshire. In 2010 the theatre celebrated its 30th anniversary with a range of events. An auction of celebrity decorated puppets took place on 30 November, including contributions from Heston Blumenthal, Michael Sheen, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Gary Lineker, Quentin Blake, Cath Kidston, Gok Wan, Terry Gilliam, Tony Robinson, Prunella Scales, Bernard Cribbins, Ian McKellen, Richard Briers and Simon Callow. An evening celebration and cabaret night were held on 4 December, (https://vimeo.com/29906760) showcasing a selection of artists and performers from the theatre's 30-year history. The theatre is also the base for the Norwich Puppet Theatre Company, which creates and presents its own productions, touring to schools and venues throughout the UK as well as international venues and festivals. Following a period of hiat