Broken Puppet Collaborative Arts

Is it time for a National Inclusion Policy for Puppetry? The Inclusive Puppetry Alliance [TIPA] is calling on all our national theatre & puppetry organisations in the UK (@britishunima @britishpuppetguild @puppetplace @equityuk @puppeteersuk ) and all other friends and allies of inclusive puppetry to join forces in creating a disabled led, truly co-produced national inclusion policy for puppetry ['NIPP'] to ensure all disabled artists working or participating in the sector - no matter where they are based or what their access needs may be - are fairly and equitably represented and supported within this wonderful realm of creative practice. Resources for ensuring pro-active inclusion are under serious threat from all quarters at this time, and our capacity to act alone is severely compromised by the very issues we'd hope to address through such an initiative. We need to band together as the unstoppable creative energy source we are in this community in order to address the current inbalances in our sector's accessible functioning. The question now is...who else will join us in this quest, and who else needs a seat at this table? If one or more of our fantastic puppetry organisations can take the lead on this, we will offer any resources at our disposal - from our 16+ years of R & D with disabled puppetry practitioners - and openly share our knowledge to assist the process. Some resources have already been shared behind the scenes, and discussions are ongoing in various quadrants...now may be the perfect time to bring the sector together, instead of all struggling to keep up with these changing times on our own. Thanks to all those who have supported TIPA's efforts so far on this! We literally cannot do this work without you all! Let us know in the comments or via DM/Email if YOU want 'a seat at this table!' - All welcome - Individuals, Teams, Orgs - any stakeholders who feel the need to be seen or heard - NO GATEKEEPING!! 🥰

ME Awareness week is coming up...and to help you all get prepared, we're sharing a preview of our Blue Rose campaign carousel, which we hope you will save and share as far and wide as possible throughout the month of May! This year, in thanks and recognition of the excellent work they are doing in the realms of biomedical research, we are asking anyone who is able to support our friends at Action for M.E, and The Open Medicine Foundation - Two hope-yeilding organisations offering our 'spoonie' community the real world changes we need to see in the ongoing quest for that ever elusive #cureforme! Please check out, follow and support their campaigns this M.E Awareness Month. For details on how to do that, check out @actionform.e @openmedf Thankyou for your support :)

Research highlights for Invisible Disabilities Awareness Month! > '5 Things Disabled Artists need that our industry isn't giving them...' Add your unmet needs in the comments to contribute to our ongoing awareness raising efforts... What would make your life as a disabled artist better? (**Downloadable version with image descriptors and screen reader friendly text coming soon! Sorry - technical hiccup, we're working on it!)

Wishing all our fellow 'Spoonies', M.E Warriors and Allies a very Happy M.E Awareness Day today! We know today can be something of a double-edged sword for many of us, and it can be hard to mark the passing of yet another year in which we've been forced to unwillingly share our lives with this terrible disease, which we all know is in dire need of more research to find a cure. But today is also a day to take stock, not only of our collective losses, our grief, frustration, anger and sadness - but to hold space for the small wins, and celebrate that progress IS being made, research IS starting to get funded and to show some promising results, and that we are all here, fighting for a better future for ourselves and our lived ones, together. We would not be here without each and every one of you. Thank you for still being here, and for powerful legacy you will help leave for future M.E patients. If you are able, plrase concider lending your support to @openmedf and @actionform.e this Month. They are doing fantastic work furthering our cause, which is very close to our hearts, as the post above explains! Sending tonnes of hugs and spoons to you all! Pace well folkes, Pace Well! (Or, as Tigui the sloth would say: 'May the Spoons be ever in your favour!' 🤣🥰)

🤣🤣🤣 This perfectly sums up why we DO need Artists and Creatives running the country, if you ask us! I don't know a single artist who isn't highly practical and pragmatic, nor any who prioritise their own interests above those of their 'electorate' either...do you?🤔 [This comment was shared under a post when we suggested artists would do a better job running our country!] We respectfully disagree, and hope the 'local government' commentor tries a bit harder to see past these outdated artist stereotypes in future.

Rediscovered character doodles from our archives! 🦥🥰 'Tigui the Sloth' here, with an authentic reminder of what happens when artists with M.E run out of energy! (If you know, you know! 🤣). 'Tigui' first appeared in Clare's Sketchbook way back in 2016, as part of our first 'chronic creatures' character design collection at Broken Puppet! Initially intended for use within our schools programmes for raising awareness around chronic illnesses and energy limiting conditions, this character became best known for his sleepy charm and love of living in super-slow-motion; teaching some of the finer points of 'pacing' - a crucial survival strategy for patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E). M.E is a complex, multi-systemic neuro-immune condition, known to cause severe disruption to the autonomic central nervous system, hinder muscle function, energy production, protein conversion and featuring atleast 8 genetic differences (so far). Our Creative Director who designed this character doodle, has lived with it for over 16 years, as there are still no treatments and no cure. Tigui the Sloth, who takes his name from the word 'Fatigue' - another common symptom of the condition - is here to remind us to PACE OURSELVES and support each other as much as possible during this very busy, advocacy-intensive ME Awareness Week! Please remember when working with friends and artists who have M.E that P.E.M - Or 'Post-Exertional Malaise' is a genuine risk with potentially devastating, very long lasting health consequences, and that PREVENTION is always preferable, particularly as there is NO CURE! PEM is a worsening of symptoms directly related to 'pushing through' and often has a delayed onset of 12 to 72 hours after the original exertion takes place. If your team mate with M.E says they need a break, or even if they don't, please make sure a break happens...because they cannot change the world when crashing and burning...but they will probably still try to!! (Yes, we know better, and yes we still do it too!) To support biomedical research into biological causes, treatments and hopefully one day a cure for M.E, please support our friends @openmedf and @actionform.e !

🎭 BrUNIMA AGM 2026 — On the Barge Join us on Sunday 14 June for the BrUNIMA Annual General Meeting, taking place this year on the Puppet Theatre Barge in Little Venice and online. This year’s AGM is hosted within one of the scholarship projects supported through BrUNIMA membership funding — a chance to experience, first-hand, the kind of work your support helps make possible. ✨ Lambe Lambe performances from 12–4pm ✨ AGM from 4:30–5:30pm (RSVP) ✨ Attend in person or online ✨ Meet members of the BrUNIMA team ✨ Limited in-person capacity BrUNIMA is the British centre of UNIMA — a volunteer-run charity supporting puppetry artists, projects, training, and international exchange. 🔒 Booking links and full details are available to members via the BrUNIMA website. .uk/p/brunima-agm-2026-in-person-and-online 👉 RSVP by 1 June #BrUNIMA #UNIMA #Puppetry #VisualTheatre #LambeLambe #PuppetTheatre @puppetsoup @unima_internationale @puppetplace @puppeteersuk @cariadastles @brokenpuppetco @curiouspuppetry

A little nature inspired post from our Earth Fairy puppet, 'Scallion' sharing some of the plants and flowers she has been busy planting in our workshop garden as part of our rewilding efforts recently... Because today is a day to celebrate our wild spaces and say a massive THANK YOU to Sir David Atteborough for the lifetime of creative inspiration he has nurtured in us by bringing us closer to the natural world and all it's wonder and magic! HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY @davidattenborough ! And to all the camera teams and crew who have been lucky enough to work on productions that turned David's life's work into such beautiful and breathtaking masterpieces of cinematography - thank you for bring the world into our living rooms and studios too!

It's not as hard as they are making it look, right? Image: A bright yellow speech bubble decorated with a dark blue outline and dots. Centred text reads 'Dear people in power, please stop ducking the World up for the rest of us, Thanks.'

Sometimes, I think the puppets would do a better job of ruling the world than the humans are doing... Has anyone seen Marley's ghost around anywhere lately? I think a few World leaders need to meet him...🤔👻 What's that clanking noise....?! 🫣🤣

Dear Humans, Why are we so hell bent on creating a world that is actively making us all so depleted and so miserable? Can we maybe, you know...try something a bit different now, please?? Like...building a world that functions on joy instead of war or something? I reckon we could do it, if we tried. Thanks!