Snuff Puppets – quick links
With a mission to create surprising and unforgettable spectacles, the puppet theatre company Snuff Puppets has enchanted millions worldwide. From giant eyeballs escaping onto the street to the world’s biggest human puppet, the company is known for pushing boundaries with its approach to the weird and wonderful.
Snuff Puppets tackle contemporary issues
The company’s large-scale puppets are both familiar and uncanny. This strong visual appeal has allowed Snuff Puppets to hit some hard topics head on over its 30-plus years.
Founder, CEO and Co-Artistic Director Andy Freer tells ArtsHub, ‘There might not be any other puppet company like us. We develop an idea and just keep digging deeper and deeper into the possibilities of it.
‘Over the years we’ve dealt with controversial subjects and very current issues like social justice and gender diversity, and I think people do want to have a discussion. We help do that in a very emotive and expressive way,’ he explains.
Like them? Then bring the puppets over!
Snuff Puppets has over 900 outdoor roaming gigs and 250 stage shows under their belt, from Australia to Europe. Recent projects have been part of Melbourne’s Sleepless festival and Fringe Festival. Now, the company is looking to bring the major work SWAMP – At the End of the World to a range of venues and audiences in 2026.
The new show features native Australian animals in the company’s signature puppetry style – including a 22-metre red-bellied black snake – in an anthropomorphic battle for survival. While there is a clear message about climate and caring for our habitat, SWAMP goes beyond.
For 2026, Snuff Puppets is especially keen on partnerships in regional Australia, and has the tools to be flexible and tailor-made with their offerings. A partnership might look like a touring show combined with a roaming act or workshop with lasting impacts in the community.
Freer is also calling on any festival, council or organisation that feels the responsibility to explore issues around the climate crisis.
‘Here in Australia we have the possibility to be a leader in the world when it comes to the climate crisis and it makes me so frustrated that we’re not. SWAMP is all about Australian animals and they could be great ambassadors for promoting action on the climate and environment. It’s not just about death and destruction, but transformation, hope and love,’ says Freer.
Slow touring could benefit regional communities
Freer’s dream is slow touring, a model where the SWAMP crew can stay in one place for a week or two and integrate themselves into the cultural fabric of a place, offering community-centred workshops and education programs. ‘The community can help work on elements of the show and we would tailor all kinds of different activities associated around it,’ Freer says. ‘It’s a broader SWAMP relationship that could happen in smaller towns and cities, even if they have limited budgets. We’re very adaptable and can fit our shows or roaming acts to whatever the needs are.’
Freer says for example, ‘We can give real purpose to young people, who might feel lost in the digital world, where big, engaging ideas are far and few between. Snuff Puppets can really fill that gap.’
It’s all about collective theatre-making. That’ how Snuff Puppets started in 1992 and that’s what still drives it today, over 30 years later.
