Chance to perform in Manchester’s MIF25 as part of life-sized animal puppet parade

Wednesday, 21 May 2025 13:07

By David Murphy

A new touring outdoor performance is calling on 100 Greater Manchester residents to help bring giant puppet animals to life this summer, with a key stop in Heywood.

Local residents are being offered the chance to join THE HERDS, a major new production opening this year’s Manchester International Festival. The free project mixes puppetry, protest and performance, and will appear in three public events across Greater Manchester in early July and as part of the Town of Culture there will be a show in Heywood on Friday 4 July.

Created by the team behind the internationally known Little Amal puppet, THE HERDS will see lifelike animal puppets travel through our local streets, telling a climate crisis story through movement and spectacle.

Participants will get three days of training in Manchester city centre, learning how to operate the life sized puppets and perform as a group. No experience is needed, just energy, confidence and a willingness to take part in outdoor activity.

The performances take place:

Manchester – Thursday 3 July, 6pm
Heywood (Rochdale) – Friday 4 July, 7pm
Pennington Flash (Leigh) – Saturday 5 July, from 1pm

To apply, you must be aged 18 or over, live in Greater Manchester, and be available every day from Monday 30 June to Saturday 5 July. A taster session is available for applicants on Sunday 15 June, and participants will receive a bursary of £240.

The work is led by Artistic Director Amir Nizar Zuabi and world class puppeteers from Ukwanda Puppets & Designs Art Collective and Craig Leo.

The organisers are keen to hear from people of all backgrounds and abilities and will work with anyone who may have access needs.

The deadline to apply is Sunday 1 June 2025. Full details are available via the MIF25 website which you can view here: Callout: Moving THE HERDS | Get Involved | MIF25 – Factory International