Upfront Puppet Theatre

Upfront Puppet Theatre Upfront a centre of creativity and excellence to develop the art form of puppetry The founders of the company are John and Elaine Parkinson. Upfront Arts Ltd.

Upfront Puppet Theatre - The Company

The company was created to develop the art form of puppetry and to create a centre of creativity and excellence for the art form. was formed as a “not for profit” company in 2003 to create a puppet company with it’s own theatre building and workshops. It’s first production was at Christmas 2004 in an eighty seat venue, created from an old farm workshop buildi

ng in rural Cumbria. John was trained as a theatre designer sat the Design school of the English National Opera, before working as a designer in many northern theatres. He has a degree in drama from Manchester University and has lectured in drama, directing, production and design. Puppetry has always been on e of John’s major passions. Elaine was trained as a primary teacher and worked for many years teaching reception and junior school children. She is now a puppeteer for Upfront and brings to the company an educational focus for it’s work. Her job also includes company administration and she is responsible for scheduling the seasons of performances and handling the day to day finances . Freelance puppeteers and makers are employed for each production, they work with the company to create and perform the shows. Since the company was formed there have been productions every year at Christmas, Summer and Easter. In 2010 the company designed a new building, raised the funding and built a new 144 seat venue during 2012. The theatre is designed with specific resources for puppetry as well as for other general use as a venue. Future plans include a permanent exhibition of the history of puppetry and a young peoples’ performance company based at the venue.

There’s more than just the puppet museum coming soon at Upfront 🎭Behind the scenes, we’re also busy preparing for our su...
08/06/2026

There’s more than just the puppet museum coming soon at Upfront 🎭

Behind the scenes, we’re also busy preparing for our summer puppet show and we can’t wait to share more with you soon. From colourful characters and storytelling to plenty of family fun, it’s shaping up to be another brilliant summer here at the venue.

There’s a lot happening at Upfront over the next few months and it’s exciting seeing everything starting to come together.

Our new puppet museum is getting closer and we honestly can’t wait to share it properly. From handmade characters and th...
07/06/2026

Our new puppet museum is getting closer and we honestly can’t wait to share it properly.

From handmade characters and theatre history to puppets full of personality and stories, it’s becoming a space packed with creativity, nostalgia and plenty of surprises! 🎭

Not long now until the doors open…

02/06/2026

Meet a few more of the characters waiting inside our new puppet museum 🎭✨

Every puppet has its own personality, story, and history behind it, from handmade creations to characters that have appeared in performances over the years.

The museum is full of little details, craftsmanship and creativity. Here’s another little look around at some of the faces you’ll meet when you visit our museum 👀

Have you met the newest residents of our puppet museum yet? 🎭✨From characters to handmade puppets full of personality, e...
29/05/2026

Have you met the newest residents of our puppet museum yet? 🎭✨

From characters to handmade puppets full of personality, every one in the collection has its own story, style, and history behind it. Some have appeared in performances over the years, while others have travelled across theatres, festivals and shows before finding a home here with us.

The museum is a chance to get up close to the craftsmanship and creativity that goes into puppetry, and honestly, it’s hard not to find a favourite once you start looking around.

Keep and eye out on our socials for the official launch date 🚀

Hidden inside our Arts Venue is something a lot of people wouldn’t expect… our incredible brand new Puppet Museum 🎭Fille...
24/05/2026

Hidden inside our Arts Venue is something a lot of people wouldn’t expect… our incredible brand new Puppet Museum 🎭

Filled with unique characters, detailed craftsmanship, and so much history, it’s one of those places you have to see properly to appreciate.

The post is just a little teaser of what’s waiting inside, but trust us, there’s so much more to explore when you visit in person. Our official launch day will be confirmed shortly, so keep an eye out on our social media for updates!

05/05/2026

The Green Man, the Four Guardians of Planet Earth, and the flock of doves were brought together through the vision and hard work of John Parkinson (Upfront Arts Venue) with the help and support of .and.pins, , and an incredible level of community involvement and enthusiasm to create something positive for Penrith. 🍃

Special thanks to Ian Jack, Andrew Blake, Greystoke Primary School, Fettle, and all the artists, young people, and community members who made it such a spectacular day.✨

We hope to see The Green Man return to Penrith one day. If you’d like to see more puppets and creative happenings, keep an eye on what Upfront Arts Venue is doing at Unthank, near Penrith.📍

We have been busy working with an excellent group of people to create our contribution to Penrith May Day this Monday co...
01/05/2026

We have been busy working with an excellent group of people to create our contribution to Penrith May Day this Monday coming. See post below for more details

Have you seen the BBC article on our May Day Green Men? 🎬We had the pleasure of speaking with BBC Cumbria recently and t...
27/04/2026

Have you seen the BBC article on our May Day Green Men? 🎬

We had the pleasure of speaking with BBC Cumbria recently and telling them all about our Green Men for May Day in Penrith! 🎤

We’re still looking for people to help us out on May Day itself (May 4th) to push our green men through Penrith, so if this is something you’d be interested in then please get in touch!

Head over to the Articles section of the BBC Cumbria website to find out more! 🔗

20/04/2026

A little update on our Green Men for Penrith May Day 🍃

Things are really starting to take shape, and it’s been great seeing the community get involved in bringing them together. There’s still plenty to do though, and we’d love a few more people to join in. No experience needed: if you’re happy to get involved and give it a go, you’ll fit right in.

If you’d like to come along and help out, just drop us an email ⬇️

📧 [email protected]

13/04/2026

A HUGE thank you to everyone who came along to our Easter Special performances of Stanelli’s Super Circus at Upfront🎪✨

We were absolutely blown away by the amazing audiences, the laughter, the smiles and the wonderful energy you all brought with you. It truly made the shows feel extra special for everyone involved✨

Make sure you watch right until the end of the reel to catch a very cute review left by two young audience members it really made our day! 🥰

We also had a soft launch of our Puppet Museum over the Easter run 👀 Something we’ve been working very hard on behind the scenes… and there’s lots more to come very soon, so keep an eye out for updates!

We hope you all enjoyed the puppet shows as much as we loved sharing them with you.

Did you come along to see Stanelli’s Super Circus? Let us know in the comments below we’d love to hear your favourite moments! 🎭

Address

Upfront Puppet Theatre, Nr Hutton In The Forest
Penrith
CA119TG

Telephone

+441768484538

Website

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