A DALES school welcomed a visit from a touring puppet company that has appeared at festivals across Europe.

Fourteen children from Hawes Primary School worked with the Lempen Puppet Theatre Company to make puppets from scratch and build a performance around them.

Lempen have toured everywhere from remote Scottish islands to major cities, and regularly take their original shows to international festivals across Europe.

During May and June, Liz and Daniel Lempen ran after school workshops in which the Hawes schoolchildren were taught to make puppets from everyday materials such as milk bottles, cardboard and fabric off-cuts.

The children then worked on developing character, animating their puppet and discovering its ‘special talent’.

The project culminated in a performance at The NASH in Hawes where the children took part in a puppet talent show in front of an audience of family, friends, teachers and the wider community.

The children performed through a specially-painted theatre stage with black-out and full-tech including lights, music and sounds effects.

Emily Rowe Rawlence from The NASH, who coordinated the project, said: “We wanted to expose children of the local area to new art forms and give them a chance to work with professional and innovative artists.

"It was amazing to see what creativity was unleashed, and so fast."

She added: "The children have been so enthusiastic and excited throughout, and so pleased with the quality of their creations – this is what arts opportunities can ignite.”

In the same week as the talent show, Lempen Puppet Theatre performed their show Cardboard Carnival in The NASH for the children of Hawes School.

This project was generously funded by Stronger Communities, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust Roger Stott Community Grants Programme and the Upper Dales Area Partnership.