Moving Parts Easter Holiday Programme of Shows, Films, Exhibitions, and Workshops Announced!
Moving Parts Arts (producers of Newcastle Puppetry Festival) have announced a jam packed week of creative activities, films, and performances for the Easter holiday break.
In place of the usual Puppet Festival, which cannot go ahead this year due to lack of funds, Moving Parts Arts presents the first ever Puppet Film Fest at Tyneside Cinema; free art and heritage exhibitions at Great North Museum: Hancock and the Civic Centre; and the premiere of brand new free outdoor theatre show The Last Believer. All of these activities will be taking place in Newcastle city centre between 3rd-18th April 2026.
Also on offer is a week-long programme of puppet making and animation workshops for adults and teens taking place at Paddy Freeman’s Pavilion in Heaton. The 7-day Marionette Making Course with world-renowned puppeteer Stephen Mottram has already sold out, so early booking for the remaining three courses is highly recommended. Artist Gretchen Maynard-Hahn will run three 2-day courses spanning Marionette Making for Beginners, Puppet Lantern Making, and Stop Motion Animation.
The Last Believer is an outdoor theatre show for all the family, which is performed using a specially crafted ‘giant crankie’. The crankie is a unique two-meter high moving panorama, which will tell the fantastical tale of Mae, who is on a quest to save Tyneside. Will Mae destroy the mysterious Hexham Heads in time to restore balance between the human and fairy worlds? This interactive performance will have live original music, puppetry, and storytelling – a bold, colourful and fun adventure story for the whole family! Performances are free to attend, and don’t require booking. Three shows a day will be performed on the Great North Museum: Hancock lawn between 8th-11th April at 11am, 1pm, and 3.30pm daily. Don’t miss the community exhibition of 100 crankies ‘A Treasury of Tyneside Tales’ inside the museum during the holidays!
Also at the Great North Museum: Hancock will be Wind Garden. Wind Garden is a community installation of windmills created by 250 local residents and artists. The tunnel-like structure will feature moving colourful windmills on the outside, and participants' stories on the interior. The installation intends to explore and celebrate wind power, local stories, and community creativity. There will also be a professional kinetic sculpture commission made by local artist Chloe Rodham. The installation is free to access during museum opening hours between 4th-12th April. Why not pop across the road to the Civic Centre and explore the ‘Teeny Tiny Toon Exhibition’ which showcases the stories and puppets of 500+ residents from the West End of Newcastle, created in workshops with Moving Parts over the past year.
The first ever Moving Parts Puppet Film Fest at Tyneside Cinema presents feature length films, short films, and social events during the Easter Holidays. The programme includes well known titles such as Muppet Treasure Island (30th Anniversary), The Dark Crystal, and The Boxtrolls, as well as arthouse puppet films including a triple bill of award winning stop motion animation shorts, Little Otik by Czech animation luminary Jan Svankmajer, and a special screening of marionette film Strings which includes a Q+A with lead puppeteer Stephen Mottram. Don’t miss the Puppet & Stop Motion Short Films Night which will include shortlisted films from around the world entered into the festival competition. There is even a Mixer Social for Animators and Puppet Filmmakers in collaboration with Film Hub North.
Moving Parts’ Easter Programme has been made possible thanks to funding from Newcastle Cultural Investment Fund, North East Combined Authority, ScottishPower Foundation, the National Lottery Community Fund ‘Awards for All’, Garfield Weston Foundation, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Hays Travel Foundation, the Barbour Foundation, and Hadrian Trust.
For more information, and to book tickets for ticketed events please visit www.movingpartsarts.com/whatson or visit socials on @MovingPartsArts
