We employ makers on a freelance basis and work with many wonderful and talented people on the puppet designing and making that we undertake.
This is the small but essential team we work with more frequently. They are an experienced bunch whose skill, theatrical sensibility and artistry makes the creative journey of each project so exciting!
Nick is an award winning puppet designer and maker, whose work has been seen on stages around the world.
Caroline is a skilled sculptor and puppet maker who has worked with Nick Barnes Puppets since it began. She is passionate about puppetry and brings a keen and often capricious eye to whatever she is working on.
After graduating from Nottingham Trent University with a degree in Theatre Design, Oli worked as Assistant Designer to Totie Driver on various productions including Oliver! and Miss Saigon.
Charlie fell into Puppet making by accident when she met Nick, having been asked to sculpt an elephant for Running Wild, and has never looked back! At the core of her work is a love for story telling and the desire to create a dynamic partnership between materials, character and movement.
Chelsey Lee is a puppeteer and maker originally from the North West of England. She trained in Physical Theatre at East 15 Acting School where her spark for puppetry was truly ignited. After leaving East 15, Chelsey spent the next few years puppeteering for shows such as CBeebies ‘Sarah and Duck’ as Sarah, Moomintroll in ‘Mischief and Mystery in Moominvalley’ and working in China as an Associate Artist for the David Glass Ensemble.
Suzanne Law is a talented maker with a particular interest in structure and assembly. Upon graduating from the Theatre Prop Making and SFX course at Northbrook MET (2017), she worked for several different companies, including a year working in film. Her first foray into puppets was working for Puppets with Guts. Subsequently she met Nick and quickly realised her love for mechanisms.
Nick Barnes Puppets is a UK based puppet making company. Our studio is in Hove on the south coast just next to Brighton and it is where we make puppets for productions across the UK and abroad.
At the heart of our work is the desire to create a beautiful and well crafted object. Our puppets are unique, bespoke and expertly designed with great attention to detail.
We are passionate about puppetry and theatre! To each project we bring our experience of working in and making theatre for all types of audiences, in the widest range of theatrical settings: theatre and opera houses of all sizes, indoors, outdoors, stadiums, fields, schools and festivals…we’ve done it all! We love to collaborate, whether it is with large international theatres or production companies, small public funded organisations or individuals.
This website showcases our puppet making, featuring images of puppets we have made and one or two that Nick designed when working as Blind Summit, the theatre company he co-founded and for which he was co-artistic director for many years.
We have delivered puppet projects to many companies and individuals. Past or current collaborators include:
Aix-en-Provence Festival
BBC, Birmingham Royal Ballet
Bristol Old Vic,
Chichester Festival Theatre
Disneyland Paris
Fiery Angel
Freewheelers Theatre Company
Fuel
Gyre & Gimble
Kenny Wax Ltd.
Les Enfants Terribles
Music and Lyrics Ltd.
Old Vic London
Perfect Pitch
Red Rose Chain Theatre Company
Royal National Theatre
Simon Friend Productions Ltd
Sheffield Crucible Theatre
If you would like to enquire about or discuss a puppetry project please email [email protected].