ABOUT

Established in 2004 Creature Encounters reinvents the puppet mask and clown for contemporary audiences. Our performance work combines special effects artistry and street theatre spectacle creating a picture book world of shows, walkabouts and roving eccentrica. Our Design Studio offers custom made character arts to creative directors and producers keen to animate their live event experiences. We remain a company of two halves.

 Making

A Creative Practical Effects Company specialising in Character Creation, Creature Effects, Puppets & Masks, UK.

Made with love.

Combining four decades of experience, we are a puppetry & practical effects company nestled in the heart of Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter. We work across live events, exhibitions and visitor attractions for creative directors and producers. We create iconic characters & brand ambassadors with a living breathing presence at your event.

Proud of our reputation as innovators, we bring ideas to life. We create together, play together, fight together. Every project is a leap into the unknown, protected by our decades of experience. We create cost-effective answers to all kinds of challenges.

We are always happy to discuss projects with clients at any stage of development, assisting with concept development and design where required, or realising a fully resolved design to your specifications. We encourage clients to approach us with as much notice as possible, to allow time for the design process and where required, any research & development.

Providing off the shelf or bespoke characters designed to your specifications, then shipped to your event with our crew of performers/technicians. Offering training for your crews or daily performances from ours. We fuse special effects artistry with street theatre spectacle, to create unforgettable connections between your audience and your event.

Creatures - Walkaround Costumes - Puppets - Masks - Creative Solutions

Concept Design: Character designs ranging from black & white pencil sketches to fully rendered colour designs and sculpted maquettes.

Animatronic Creatures: Fabrication of mechanised systems ranging from mechanical rigs to simple cable mechs that will produce various movement functions operable by a performer.

Walk-around Costumes: Fabrication of full-sized costumes ranging from robots, creatures, animals, etc. to be worn by human performers.

Soft Puppets: Fabrication of soft puppet characters including custom wardrobe and accessories/props.

Masks & Props: Fabrication of soft & hard masks as well as specialised character props.

Rentals: Animatronic and walk-around costume rentals of a range of generic animals and creatures.

PERFORMANCE

A Creative Performance Company specialising in Character Based Creature Effects, Puppets & Masks, UK.

Performed with love.

We are street theatre alchemists continuing in the proud and ancient traditions of nomadic Showmen. Fusing special effects artistry & street theatre spectacle to create a picture book world of roving eccentrica, interactive performance and shows that celebrate children and childhood.

We are theatrical engineers and master puppet makers who merge artistry with engineering. Striving to reinvent the puppet, mask and clown with contemporary approaches, materials and techniques, we push our art form forward to exceed the expectations of today’s audiences.

Inspired by the belief that street arts are the most accessible, democratic and altruistic of art forms, we perform our exotic beasts in our communities beating cultural & economic hearts. Touching the residents, transforming the space & hoping to leave these communities, our society and this world with an infinite sense of the possible.

Beloved by audiences and trusted by bookers; through our diverse network of agents, producers and directors, we deliver our work into a broad ecology of public and private functions, arts festivals, community events and international expos. Consistently performing over 200 dates per annum making us one of the busiest and most successful outdoor arts companies in the UK. Across almost two decades our work has impacted hundreds of thousands of people.

We have worked across the globe, invited by bookers who recognise the unique power of our characters to connect with their communities and celebrate their cultural events. In the past decade, we have made multiple trips to Europe, Asia, Russia and the Middle East as ambassadors of the cultural health of our nation and champions of our combined arts approach to puppetry and outdoor arts.

What began as two guys with a love of puppetry has evolved into a community of artists, performers and makers that remains the companies greatest asset and enduring legacy. We are stewards of puppetry’s living tradition, taking what inspired us as children, transforming it as adults, and paying it forward to the children of today. This is how puppetry renews itself, this is how it stays relevant and alive.

Walkabout Entertainment - Circle Shows - Creatures - Creative Solutions