Stone puppet maker David Leech gave BBC presenter Mark Hill quite a surprise when Pelham Puppets were featured on BBC2’s Collectaholics on 14th April.
David – the man behind the first Stone Puppet Festival in August – was asked by the show’s producers to make a special puppet for Mark, who was interviewing Pelham Puppets collector Peter Bevan for the programme. David presented the ‘Mini Me’ puppet to a very surprised Mark – who is also a regular Antiques Roadshow expert – at Norwich Puppet Theatre.
David’s childhood hobby developed into a career as a professional puppeteer and puppet maker and he’s worked in children’s theatre and TV for over 30 years. He is the official historian for Pelham Puppets and now produces the new range of Pelham Puppets for the toy trade.
David said: ” I was delighted to make the special puppet for Mark. The programme not only highlighted the history of Pelham Puppets but also highlighted the ‘art of puppetry’ very well by filming in the Norwich Puppet Theatre and the Angel Theatre, two of Britain’s permanent puppet theatres. It showed clearly that puppetry is a thriving art form for all ages.”
Plans are going well for the first Stone Puppet Festival on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th August, when around 20 professional puppet companies will be staging shows in the town. Highlights include Thunderbirds, The Gruffalo, Cinderella, Alice In Wonderland, puppet workshops, a fun opening parade and lots more. There’s more information in these links:
[button color=”red” size=”small” link=”https://stonepuppetfestival.co.uk/” target=”blank” ]Stone Puppet Festival website[/button]
[button color=”red” size=”small” link=”https://www.facebook.com/stonepuppetfestival?fref=ts” target=”blank” ]Stone Puppet Festival Facebook[/button]
[button color=”red” size=”small” link=”https://www.twitter.com/pelpop1″ ]Stone Puppet Festival Twitter[/button]
