Thanks to a £6,300 funding package, puppeteer Tony Gee is staging a series of workshops in both Totnes and Kingsbridge to give young people the chance to express their feelings and views about climate change and biodiversity.

The Talking Forest project for youngsters aged from eight to 16-years-old will culminate in the ‘Biggest Puppet Show on Earth’ in Totnes, with the live performance captured by a professional filmmaker to demonstrate how climate change affects children.

A team of five artists are involved in the project, which will kick off with two workshops at Dodbrooke Parish Hall, Kingsbridge on Monday and Tuesday February 21 and 22, and then in Totnes Civic Hall on Thursday and Friday February 24 and 25. All workshops will run from 10am until 4pm.

Working with artists, youngsters attending the workshops will help to create the north, south, east and west regions of a ‘whole world forest’ – a mythical place full of creatures and plants from all over planet Earth, where all living things have a voice and everything talks.

At each workshop, everyone involved will make their own quality puppet creatures facilitated by expert and experienced puppeteers, and then write, devise, rehearse and perform their own shows.

Once all four parts of the forest have been made and each of the four acts written and performed, these elements will come together for a final workshop open to all who attended any of the first four workshops.

A potential cast of some 200 puppeteers and even more puppets will then perform the final show at Totnes Civic Hall on Saturday February 26.

Organiser Tony of Creation Myth Puppets said: “If you are eight to 16-years-old and want to bring a huge talking forest to life in live performance, then please come along.

“Together we can make a magnificent creative spectacular.”

The project has been joint funded by South Hams Council which donated £3,500, Totnes Town Council which gave £2,3000 and £500 from Devon County Councillor Julian Brazil’s climate change budget.

Tickets for the Kingsbridge workshops are available at Kingsbridge Information Centre, The Quay or online at https://bit.ly/33N4XXW.

Tickets for the Totnes workshops are available at East Gate Bookshop, Fore Street or online at https://bit.ly/3rRdlgY

For more information visit www.creationmythpuppets.co.uk