During summer 2004 and the 2004-2025 school year, Chris and Doug (under their company Peak Puppets), along with other local artists, delivered workshops at Buxton Community School for a Funny Wonders ‘Puppet Project’, supported by an Arts Council England ‘Grants for the Arts’ grant. 56 young people and 7 volunteers took part.
Training for the team took place in June ahead of a residency over 12-16 July 2004 where 17 young people took part, working towards making rod and string puppets and shadow puppets. The string and rod puppets were used to perform for the SEND Summer Club at the school and then in opening parade of the Buxton Puppet Festival 2004 and at the Paupers Pit as part of the festival’s opening ceremony.
The project continued with after-school workshops during the autumn and a further 3-day residency was delivered during the 2025 October half-term. 18 young people took part creating shadow puppetry shows to perform in the Pauper’s Pit on 31 October as part of the Buxton Opera House’s Halloween Children’s Festival. Shows included A Vampire Castle Bizarre Thing by Hoobastein 4, You Take the High Road and I’ll Break My Leg by The McHighland Coos, and The Trials and Tribulations of Svictor Vinbad by The Elite Puppet Company. This was performed alongside a performance of The Seven Voyages of Sinbad by Peak Puppets (Chris & Doug’s company).
The after-school puppet club at BCS continued to the end of 2004, creating characters for the 12 Days of Christmas for a school assembly in which 8 young people performed.
Between January and April 2005, 20 young people took part working towards a performance for Buxton Junior School, supported by an undergraduate student on a Creative Expressive Therapies Course.
