A herd of puppet animals is migrating north from Africa. This 12,000 mile journey represents wildlife’s response to the climate crisis as species are forced to move north due to rising temperatures. As The Herds travels through the UK en route to the Arctic, the organisers hope this artistic project will help spectators along the route understand what is happening to the environment.
Events like this are “louder than traffic”, according to US-based puppeteer Peter Schumann. The giant puppets are a visual tool to capture the public’s imagination.
Over the past 30 years working as a theatre scholar, I have observed that puppetry has become an important artform for telling stories that explore the way we respond to and interact with nature.
