FROM the arresting life-sized creations of the National Theatre’s War Horse, to the charm of Wes Anderson’s applauded animation Fantastic Mr Fox, puppetry has come a long way since the days of rickety seaside Punch and Judy shows.

No longer reserved purely for kids, puppetry extends boundaries, expectations and ages, and this month sees the launch of London’s first festival of adult puppetry for more than 25 years.

Created by Islington’s Little Angel Theatre, Suspense runs for ten days from Friday, October 30, across six other venues – Pleasance Theatre Islington, The Nave, Jacksons Lane, The Rosemary Branch, The Puppet Theatre Barge and Central School of Speech & Drama – and features 24 renowned international companies.

Peter Glanville, artistic director of Little Angel Theatre and creator of Suspense, says: “Puppetry is going through a renaissance in the UK with productions such as War Horse, Avenue Q, Madam Butterfly and the RSC’s Venus and Adonis revealing how sophisticated, irrational, grotesque and potent the art form can be. The work programmed for Suspense represents not only the changing landscape of puppetry in the UK but a challenge to the way theatre is made – opening new doors of expressiveness.”

Offering a real spectrum of work across the genre, Suspense features productions inspired by Greek myths, Perseus and The Gorgon’s Head at The Little Angel Theatre (Saturday, October 31 to Sunday, November 1), the imaginary world of a child heart transplant patient, Heartbreak Soup at Jacksons Lane, Highgate (Saturday, November 7 to Sunday, November 8) and even pirate radio stations, Green Ginger’s sell-out show Rust at Pleasance Theatre, Islington (Thursday, October 29 to Sunday, November 15). Lectures and masterclasses will also feature as part of the festival, as well as rare training opportunities for puppeteers.

Suspense, London Puppetry Festival, runs from Friday, October 30 to Sunday, November 8. For more details and tickets visit www.suspensefestival.com