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Pupils present puppet shows based on Cathedral’s history

Puppet shows based on the story of Saint Alban and the Cathedral’s Victorian renovations have been performed by a team of local volunteers and 60 children from Mandeville Primary School - working with arts charity Young People’s Puppet Theatre.

09 Jun 2026

Posted at 13:23 in St Albans

Puppet shows based on the story of Saint Alban and the Cathedral’s Victorian renovations have been performed by a team of local volunteers and 60 children from Mandeville Primary School – working with arts charity Young People’s Puppet Theatre.

St Albans Cathedral hosted the two productions, both written by Rebekah King – The Crossing Place, based on Alban, and A Grim Day Out, about two children who fall back in time to explore the Victorian-era renovations of the Cathedral.

A team of local volunteers started making the puppets in February in weekly workshops at the Cathedral, using clay, wood and fabric to create stunning puppets for the two shows. The children visited one of the workshops to learn more about the puppetmaking process and the Cathedral, before helping the volunteers get the puppets onto strings.

They then had three weeks of rehearsals at their school with the puppets before the public performances. The children played every role in the show, from voice acting and puppetry to lighting, sound and stage management.

Volunteer Sheila said: “Although I felt quite daunted making a puppet face, I have enjoyed the process.

“I have been really inspired by the enormous benefits to the children, so it’s a win-win.”

These productions mark six years’ of collaboration between the Young People’s Puppet Theatre and Mandeville Primary School. Headteacher Cathy Longhurst said: “We love working with YPPT. The project achieves things that we cannot possibly hope to replicate in the classroom, in terms of real purposeful collaboration, really stepping outside their comfort zones, raising their self-esteem and working in a very professional way. It makes such a difference to all the children and was exactly what our children needed.”

The Young People’s Puppet Theatre is a local arts education charity based at Trestle Arts Base which works with primary schools across the east of England.

Run by father-and-daughter team Jeremy and Caitlin Duschenes, they work with around 700 children aged nine-11 each year, who create puppets and take part in spectacular shows. The children gain a huge range of creative, technical and performance skills in the process, but the real change comes in the ‘soft’ skills, as they learn teamwork, communication, and organisational skills, and gain huge resilience and confidence.

More information about the YPPT, including their summer camp for ages eight to 12, can be found at www.yppt.org.uk

Puppet shows based on the story of Saint Alban and the Cathedral’s Victorian renovations have been performed by a team of local volunteers and 60 children from Mandeville Primary School - working with arts charity Young People’s Puppet Theatre.
Puppet shows based on the story of Saint Alban and the Cathedral’s Victorian renovations have been performed by a team of local volunteers and 60 children from Mandeville Primary School - working with arts charity Young People’s Puppet Theatre.
Puppet shows based on the story of Saint Alban and the Cathedral’s Victorian renovations have been performed by a team of local volunteers and 60 children from Mandeville Primary School - working with arts charity Young People’s Puppet Theatre.
Puppet shows based on the story of Saint Alban and the Cathedral’s Victorian renovations have been performed by a team of local volunteers and 60 children from Mandeville Primary School - working with arts charity Young People’s Puppet Theatre.
Puppet shows based on the story of Saint Alban and the Cathedral’s Victorian renovations have been performed by a team of local volunteers and 60 children from Mandeville Primary School - working with arts charity Young People’s Puppet Theatre.
Puppet shows based on the story of Saint Alban and the Cathedral’s Victorian renovations have been performed by a team of local volunteers and 60 children from Mandeville Primary School - working with arts charity Young People’s Puppet Theatre.
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