Larrikin Puppets join Miss Nicky Says for new ‘Pepeha’ project
We’re excited to have been part of a very special project with award-winning children’s artist Miss Nicky Says, bringing music, puppetry and cultural education together to help tamariki learn about pepeha, whakapapa and their connection to whānau and whenua.
Miss Nicky Says with special guest puppet characters from Larrikin Puppets in the Pepeha project.
We were excited to be invited to work with Miss Nicky Says on her new Pepeha project, bringing some of our characters to life alongside her music and education.
Created by New Zealand children’s artist Nicolla Hemi-Morehouse, Miss Nicky Says, the project has been developed to help tamariki learn more about their pepeha, whakapapa and tūrangawaewae through original waiata, visual storytelling and puppetry.
The project brings together six original waiata, each exploring different elements of pepeha, including maunga, awa, roto, moana, waka and whānau. Each song is accompanied by a music video, with additional episodes where Miss Nicky Says and her special guest puppet characters from award-winning puppetry company Larrikin Puppets share kōrero about the songs and the ideas behind them.
Bringing Larrikin Puppets characters to the project
For us, one of the most exciting parts of the project has been seeing our puppet characters become part of Miss Nicky Says’ colourful world.
Troggg, our blue monster star, features alongside Miss Nicky Says in the project, including the music video for Do You Know Your Pepeha? and the waiata Awa Moana.
The puppets are performed by Brett Hansen and Elissa Jenkins, interacting with Miss Nicky, responding to the songs and helping create a playful environment for young viewers.
Do You Know Your Pepeha? featuring Miss Nicky Says and characters from Larrikin Puppets.
Watch the Pepeha project
The Pepeha project gives tamariki and whānau an opportunity to explore pepeha through music, puppetry and visual storytelling.
The project encourages children to learn about where they come from and the connections between people, place, family and identity. It also encourages tamariki to ask questions, find out more about their whakapapa and have a go at sharing their own pepeha.
Watch the Pepeha project from Miss Nicky Says, featuring characters from Larrikin Puppets.
Music, puppetry and learning
One of the things we love about puppetry is its ability to make ideas accessible to young audiences. A puppet can ask the question a child might be thinking, make a silly mistake, react with surprise or simply have fun alongside the audience.
That makes puppetry a natural fit for a project like Pepeha, where the aim is to encourage tamariki to be curious, ask questions and begin discovering more about their own connections to whānau and whenua.
The project has been created with support from NZ On Air and brings together Miss Nicky Says’ waiata and storytelling with colourful visual production and character puppetry.
Awa Moana features Troggg from Larrikin Puppets alongside Miss Nicky Says.
Awa Moana is one of the songs in the project, exploring the relationship with the ocean. The single features Troggg alongside Miss Nicky Says.
Hoea Rā, another waiata from the Pepeha project.
A creative collaboration
This isn’t our first creative collaboration with Miss Nicky Says. Larrikin Puppets previously worked with Miss Nicky on her music video We Say “Kia Ora”, which brought our puppet characters together with her music and performance.
We love working on projects like these because they give our puppets a chance to do something a bit different from our live puppet shows. Instead of performing on our usual puppet theatre stage, we get to work directly with cameras and monitors on set, with music and other performers to create something that can reach children well beyond a live audience.
It also gives us the opportunity to bring the same character-based puppetry techniques we use in our live performances into music videos and other filmed projects.
Say Iwi from the Pepeha project.
A project for tamariki and whānau
Pepeha has been created as an accessible resource for tamariki, whānau, schools, kura, childcare centres and educators.
The six waiata explore different parts of pepeha, providing opportunities for children to become familiar with te reo Māori vocabulary while learning about connections to people and place.
We’re proud that Larrikin Puppets has been able to contribute to that process through the performance of our puppet characters.
And, of course, Troggg has had a great time along the way!
Miss Nicky Says and her special guest puppet characters from Larrikin Puppets.
Watch and explore the Pepeha project
You can watch the Pepeha project and find more from Miss Nicky Says on YouTube and through the major music streaming platforms.
A new Australian children’s TV series for ages 5–9
Yompers follows the social lives of children who attend a whimsical, multi-species vacation care run by four wise, but hilarious Yompers who bring insight, peace, love and laughter. Each donning a colourful backpack, Yompers carry the heavy load of life’s biggest lessons. It takes a Yomper to raise a community.
Yompers is a fast-paced, fun and funny children’s TV series for ages 5–9 and their families that shines a light on the individual, social and community life of children using humanities, arts and social sciences education. Each 11-minute episode includes a snappy live action storyline, creative cutaways and a different two-minute song per episode as the outro.
Featuring over 15 puppet characters per episode, human actors include children in vacation care and the teenage and young adult assistants who help run things – the Yomper “Helping Hands”.
The Yompers theme song is by Australian rock legends Regurgitator!
Their calling is to impart wisdom to some of the youngest humans on earth in a super fun way, supporting them to understand important and exciting ideas in the areas of HASS (Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences).
The main characters are four puppet Yompers: A Polar Bear, a Greater Glider, a Crested Porcupine and a Pine Marten. They are peacemakers who run Yompers Vacation Care Centre, which is a converted war bunker on Bribie Island. Each Yomper carries a heavy load – a colourful backpack. Each of them has something special inside their backpacks that is revealed to support their care for the children.
Note, ‘Yomping’ was revealed by journalist Charles Laurence in 1982 as the word which the British Royal Marines used to describe carrying heavy loads long distances on foot. It’s used here as euphemism for “taking on the heavy load to help others achieve their goals”. The twist is that these Yompers are harbingers of global peace which is, let’s be honest, the HARDEST of jobs.
The Yompers TV series proof of concept was filmed in February 2025 at Pluggas Studio on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Zietta and the Little Larrikins:
Now Booking for 2027 Theatre Season
Zietta and the Little Larrikins is our exciting Australian children’s theatre production, combining puppetry, comedy, music and audience interaction in a colourful live show for young audiences.
Following the successful launch of the production at Redcliffe Entertainment Centre, we’re now looking ahead to our 2027 theatre season.
Zietta and the Little Larrikins brings the fun, energy and cheekiness of Larrikin Puppets to the theatre stage, with plenty of puppetry, comedy, original music and audience interaction for children and families.
We are now looking for theatres, performing arts centres and other suitable venues interested in presenting Zietta and the Little Larrikins during 2027.
If you are a theatre programmer, venue manager, festival organiser or presenter interested in bringing the show to your audience, we’d love to hear from you.
Zietta and the Little Larrikins is a Larrikin Puppets production, created and performed by our team here in Queensland.
Larrikin Puppets at QAGOMA for Make, Believe, Magic!
We’re excited to announce that Larrikin Puppets is part of the program for
Make, Believe, Magic: The Worlds of The Jim Henson Company at
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art!
We’ll be performing in QAGOMA’s Queensland Puppetry Showcase,
presented by Screen Queensland, as part of their
Family Fun Days.
Saturday 26 September 2026
Queensland Puppetry Showcase
Cinema B, GOMA
10:15am – 10:45am
11:15am – 11:45am
Sunday 24 January 2027
Queensland Puppetry Showcase
Cinema B, GOMA
10:15am – 10:45am
11:15am – 11:45am
Meet the Puppets!
Then in the afternoon, come and Meet the Puppets at
Bodhi Tree Terrace, where we’ll be running a
drop-in puppetry activation from 1:00pm – 2:00pm.
Every now and then something happens that makes you stop and think, “I never imagined this would be part of our journey.”
This week was one of those moments.
Back in late March, I received an email from Matilda Elliott, a writer from Take 5 Magazine. She had come across Larrikin Puppets on TikTok and wondered if Elissa and I would be interested in sharing the story of how we met, fell in love and eventually built Larrikin Puppets together.
After spending quite a while chatting with Matilda, she told us our story would be appearing in an upcoming issue of the magazine. We knew it was on its way, but we didn’t know exactly when it would be published.
Seeing ourselves on the front cover of the national magazine this week, sitting on the rack at our local supermarket was a pretty surreal experience.
Inside was a two-page spread telling the story of how Elissa and I met, how our relationship grew, and how Larrikin Puppets became such a big part of our lives together. The feature appeared in Take 5 Magazine, Issue 26 (6 July 2026).
Before anyone asks, Elissa didn’t write the article. Matilda interviewed both of us and then wrote the feature in the style that Take 5 is known for. Like any magazine article, it’s an interpretation of our story rather than a word-for-word account of our conversation. Some events have been simplified, some conversations have been recreated, and a few moments have been presented a little more dramatically than they happened in real life. That’s simply the nature of magazine storytelling, and it was interesting to see our journey through someone else’s eyes.
I have to admit, I don’t buy many magazines these days, so it felt a little strange seeing ourselves on the cover of one. I’m not even sure how many people still read print magazines, but for one week there we were, sitting on the shelves of supermarkets and newsagents all around Australia.
It was fun reading our story from someone else’s perspective. The article goes all the way back to 2005 when Elissa was organising a charity fashion show and needed someone to design a logo. She found my website, complete with my cartoons and a rather memorable bright red mohawk, and that’s where our story first began.
Life took us in different directions after that and we lost touch for several years. We met again after my brother Todd and I organised a fundraising music event in memory of our mum, Helen, following her battle with ovarian cancer. Elissa came along to support the event, we reconnected, stayed in touch through social media, and eventually caught up at a party she invited me to. Looking back now, it’s funny to think that such a simple decision to rock up to a party led to everything we’ve built together since.
From there, the article follows the growth of both our relationship and Larrikin Puppets. It touches on my decision to leave my full-time job and pursue puppetry full time, Elissa gradually becoming a puppeteer herself, our training in the United States with Henson puppeteers, and some of the great opportunities we’ve had over the years performing around Australia, collaborating on creative projects and developing new ideas for the future.
Of course, twenty years of life can’t possibly fit into two magazine pages. There are countless stories, adventures, setbacks, laughs, long drives, puppet builds, school performances and unforgettable moments that never made it into print. But that’s perfectly okay. I think Matilda captured the heart of our story, and that’s what matters most.
I’m grateful to Matilda Elliott for discovering Larrikin Puppets on TikTok and taking an interest in what we do, and to everyone at Take 5 Magazine for giving our story a place in the magazine. It’s certainly not something I ever expected when I started Larrikin Puppets back in 2012.
Magazine issues only stay on the shelves for a short time, which is one of the reasons I wanted to write this blog post. Long after this issue has disappeared from supermarkets and newsagents, I’ll still be able to look back on this page and remember what a special milestone it was. Thankfully, we also have these photos of the cover and the two-page feature to help preserve the memory.
If you’re reading this years from now, I hope you’ve enjoyed this little glimpse into a very unexpected chapter in the Larrikin Puppets story. Moments like this don’t happen every day, and I’m very thankful that Elissa and I have been able to share our journey with so many awesome people over the years.
If you’ve been part of the Larrikin Puppets journey over the years, whether you booked a puppet show, saw us performing at a festival, watched our TEDx talk, followed us on social media or simply cheered us on from afar, thank you. We genuinely appreciate your support, and we’re excited to see what comes next.
Brett Hansen
Founder & Principal Puppeteer
Larrikin Puppets
When most people think of Bunnings Warehouse, they think of timber, tools, plants, paint and, of course, the famous sausage sizzle.
For us, Bunnings has also become a place of laughter, community, family fun and puppet shows.
Over the past decade, Larrikin Puppets has been fortunate enough to perform at family nights, school holiday events and community celebrations at Bunnings stores across Queensland and northern New South Wales. Looking back, it has been quite a journey.
Technically, our first ever Bunnings booking wasn’t a puppet show at all.
On Wednesday 12 August 2015, I was booked to perform roving puppetry at Bunnings Manly West between 10am and 1pm. Back then we were experimenting with different styles of performance and were happy to give almost anything a go.
Looking back, it feels like a glimpse of what was to come.
These days, we rarely offer roving puppetry. Our characters work best when families have seen them perform on stage first and have had the chance to get to know them. A puppet show gives audiences context and helps create that connection.
At the time, though, we had no idea that Bunnings events would become a regular part of our performing calendar for more than ten years.
Our first full puppet show at a Bunnings store came the following year.
On Thursday 17 March 2016, we travelled from our home in Moorooka to Bunnings Warwick for their Easter Family Night.
At the time, Warwick felt like quite an adventure. We set off from Brisbane in the late afternoon and headed south-west towards the Southern Downs. One of my strongest memories from that day is the sunset. As we approached Warwick, the sky was glowing with colour and it felt like the perfect backdrop for the evening ahead.
We arrived a couple of hours before the show to load all the equipment in and set up.
The stage was unlike anything we had performed on before.
The loading dock at the back of the store became our theatre stage.
Our puppet stage sat on the loading dock while the audience sat below on rows of chairs looking up at the performance. It was such an unusual setup, but it worked really well.
The show began at 6:45pm.
At that point, we had never really heard of children’s entertainment being presented at a hardware store. It seemed like a quirky idea, but once we saw the families arriving and the atmosphere building, it all made sense.
After the show, we packed everything down and made the drive back to Brisbane that same night.
We were tired, but we had discovered something special.
Later that year, life took us in a different direction.
In 2016, Elissa and I spent three months living in New York City, receiving formal training from puppeteers who worked on Sesame Street and The Muppets. It was an incredible opportunity that helped shape us as performers.
When we returned to Australia, we made another big change. We moved to Bribie Island.
Our next Bunnings booking came on Thursday 15 December 2016 at Bunnings Morayfield for a school holiday Family Fun Day.
Compared with Warwick, this was practically around the corner.
The 10am puppet show introduced us to what would become one of our favourite Bunnings stores to perform at.
Only a few months later, on Thursday 6 April 2017, we returned to Bunnings Morayfield for Easter Family Night.
The thing we remember most about Morayfield was the audience size.
Every time we performed there, the crowds were huge.
Unlike Warwick, we weren’t on a loading dock. Instead, we performed in a large open section of the warehouse, surrounded by towering shelves and stacks of timber. The space worked brilliantly for family events and always seemed to fill with excited children and families.
It was also at Morayfield that we began to appreciate just how much effort Bunnings teams put into these events.
There was often fairy floss, popcorn, market stalls, activities for children, roaming characters and sometimes even animal nurseries. The stores transformed into community events where families could spend an entire evening together.
In 2018, we headed north on a regional Queensland tour.
The first stop was Easter Family Night at Bunnings Maryborough on Thursday 22 March 2018.
At the time, I thought Easter Family Night was the main Bunnings event held throughout the year. I had no idea how many different community celebrations the stores actually hosted.
The Maryborough performance became the starting point of a tour that took us through Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Gin Gin, Rockhampton, Gracemere, Mount Morgan and Gladstone before returning home.
Then came 2020.
We had been booked to perform at Easter Family Night at Bunnings Robina on Thursday 2 April 2020.
The show never happened.
Like so many events across Australia, it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
It’s a booking we’ve always been a little disappointed not to fulfil. Robina is a part of the Gold Coast where we perform regularly, and we would have loved to bring our puppet show to that community. Most of our Gold Coast bookings are private performances in schools and childcare centres, so opportunities to perform at public community events like libraries, festivals or a Bunnings Family Night are relatively rare for us.
Two years later, things finally started moving again.
On Saturday 2 July 2022, we performed at Bunnings Acacia Ridge for a school holiday Family Fun Day.
The response was fantastic.
The audience was enormous, the kids were engaged from beginning to end, and the feedback from families was wonderful.
The store was so happy with the event that they invited us back almost immediately for another school holiday performance on Thursday 22 September 2022.
It was one of those occasions where everyone involved walked away smiling.
The following year brought another far away Bunnings booking.
On Sunday 12 February 2023, we performed at Bunnings Coffs Harbour South in New South Wales.
We happened to be in Coffs Harbour while training the cast of Avenue Q for the Coffs Harbour Amateur Theatre Society, and we were able to fit a Bunnings Family Fun Day performance into the trip.
There is always something exciting about performing far from home. It reminded us of that first journey to Warwick years earlier.
Then came one of the most memorable Bunnings events we’ve ever been part of.
On Thursday 9 May 2024, we performed at Mother’s Day Family Night at the newly opened Bunnings Caboolture.
Being so close to Bribie Island, it was one of our shortest drives to a Bunnings store.
There were gift stalls, families everywhere, community groups, volunteers and plenty of activity throughout the evening.
Afterwards, we saw some lovely comments online from stallholders and families who had attended. The Rotary Club of Caboolture wrote about how much they enjoyed the puppet show and how much of a great time they had at the event overall.
It was also the night that I realised Bunnings hosted far more than Easter events and school holiday activities.
There was a whole calendar of family nights happening throughout the year.
School holiday events.
Easter Family Nights.
Mother’s Day Family Nights.
Halloween Family Nights.
And more still to come.
After the success of Mothers Day, Bunnings Caboolture had us back for Halloween Family Night on Thursday 31 October 2024, right on Halloween night itself. We were in the DIY Workshop space this time, much like our set-up at Bunnings Acadia Ridge. It was a smaller area, which also included a haunted house and other spooky activities and displays for kids and families to enjoy.
On Thursday 2 January 2025, we performed a school holiday Family Fun Day at Bunnings Victoria Point.
One of the nicest things about these events is that they are free for the community.
Over the years, we’ve had friends come along with their children, including people we went to school with who are now parents themselves. It’s always nice when friends of ours come along to support the show.
It’s always nice spotting familiar faces in the audience and hearing afterwards that the kids enjoyed the show.
These events bring communities together.
Families come along for a fun day or night out. Local groups raise money through sausage sizzles. Children enjoy the activities. Parents catch up with friends. Grandparents bring grandchildren.
In late 2025, we returned for another Halloween Family Night, this time at Bunnings Caboolture again on Thursday 30 October. They had us back in the larger space once more for this event, where we had previously performed for their Mothers Day Family Night in 2024.
A couple of months later came a booking that had been years in the making.
An event organiser we had worked with many years earlier at the Darra Community Festival was now working with Bunnings Keperra and had been trying to secure a date for us for quite some time.
The challenge with Bunnings events is that several stores will often enquire about the same dates. When there’s a family night at one Bunnings store, it’s happening at all Bunnings stores nationally.
Once one store books the date, that’s it.
After years of trying, we finally made it to Bunnings Keperra for their Christmas Family Night on Thursday 4 December 2025.
Many Australians know Keperra as the real-life inspiration for Hammerbarn from the hit animated series Bluey.
The special Hammerbarn promotion, in which Bunnings Keperra temporarily branded itself to look like Hammerbarn from Bluey, had finished by the time we arrived, but it was still great to finally perform there and tick another Bunnings store off our list.
And the story isn’t over yet.
In 2026, we’re looking forward to performing at Bunnings Rothwell for Father’s Day Family Night on Thursday 3 September 2026.
We’ll then return to Bunnings Manly West, the very first Bunnings store I ever performed at, when we present a puppet show as part of Halloween Family Night on Thursday 29 October 2026.
More than a decade after that first roving puppetry booking, we’ll be back performing a full puppet show for local families at the very same Bunnings store where my Bunnings journey began.
When I look back on ten years of Bunnings events, what stands out isn’t the stores themselves.
It’s the people.
The children laughing at the puppet characters.
The parents sitting alongside them.
The volunteers running stalls.
The community groups raising funds.
The staff members who work hard behind the scenes to make these events happen.
We’ve performed in loading docks, warehouse spaces, timber sections, garden centres, DIY workshop areas and community event zones. We’ve travelled across South East Queensland and beyond. We’ve seen huge crowds, familiar faces and plenty of first-time audience members.
Most of all, we’ve been grateful to be part of something that brings communities together.
Thank you to every Bunnings store that has invited us to perform over the years.
We hope there are many more family nights still to come.
Award-winning puppetry entertainment from Bribie Island recognised among the region’s leading businesses
On Tuesday 26 May 2026, Larrikin Puppets was honoured to receive the Creative Industries Award at the 2026 Pumicestone Business Excellence Awards, held at Sandstone Point Hotel.
For a business that began with a collection of puppets, a dream, and a belief that professional puppet shows deserved a place once again in the Australian children’s entertainment scene, it was an unforgettable evening.
The awards celebrate the dedication, innovation and resilience of small businesses throughout the Pumicestone region. The Creative Industries Award specifically recognises artists, designers and creative enterprises that contribute to the region’s vibrant arts and cultural landscape.
To be recognised among so many outstanding local businesses was both humbling and deeply meaningful.
Brett Hansen and Elissa Jenkins celebrate Larrikin Puppets’ Creative Industries Award win with beloved puppet characters Troggg and Marina at the 2026 Pumicestone Business Excellence Awards.
As the winners were announced, two familiar faces represented Larrikin Puppets on stage. Troggg and Marina, two of the company’s most beloved puppet characters, helped accept the award, bringing laughter and surprise to a room filled largely with business leaders, entrepreneurs and community representatives.
It was a reminder that puppetry has a unique ability to connect with people of every age. Whether performing for hundreds of children at a festival or entertaining adults at a business awards ceremony, great puppetry creates moments of shared joy.
Troggg and Marina Take Centre Stage
Watch Troggg and Marina accept the Creative Industries Award and bring a touch of puppetry magic to an evening celebrating the achievements of the Pumicestone region’s small business community.
Video: Troggg and Marina accept the Creative Industries Award on behalf of Larrikin Puppets at the 2026 Pumicestone Business Excellence Awards. The celebration included a photo opportunity with Queensland Premier David Crisafulli MP, Minister for Small and Family Business Steve Minnikin MP, and Member for Pumicestone Ariana Doolan MP.
The award recognises far more than a single performance or project. Since its establishment in 2012, Larrikin Puppets has grown from a small one man creative business into one of Australia’s most active professional puppetry companies.
Led by husband-and-wife team Brett Hansen and Elissa Jenkins, Larrikin Puppets has entertained more than 100,000 children and families across schools, libraries, theatres, childcare centres, festivals and touring venues throughout Queensland and beyond.
In recent years, the company has expanded its creative output significantly.
In 2026 alone, Larrikin Puppets presented sixteen performances at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival while continuing to tour extensively. The company develops original songs, creates educational content, produces the Little Larrikins Podcast and is preparing to launch Little Larrikins Learning, a new digital platform developed with support through the Queensland Government’s Business Basics program.
Their creative work also extends into television and film. Brett and Elissa have performed on productions including Shake Takes, Totally Wild and The Bureau of Magical Things, while their original television project Yompers has brought together more than fifty artists and creatives with support from the Regional Arts Development Fund.
Elissa Jenkins also secured funding for Zietta and the Little Larrikins, an ambitious musical theatre production celebrating creativity, culture and community, which premiered to enthusiastic audiences at the Redcliffe Entertainment Centre in May 2026.
Behind every achievement is a commitment to continual learning. Both Brett and Elissa received professional training in the United States from puppeteers associated with The Muppets and Sesame Street, bringing world-class puppetry techniques back to Queensland audiences.
Brett Hansen and Elissa Jenkins with Troggg and Marina alongside Queensland Premier David Crisafulli MP, Minister for Small and Family Business Steve Minnikin MP, and Member for Pumicestone Ariana Doolan MP at the 2026 Pumicestone Business Excellence Awards.
What makes this recognition especially significant is that it celebrates not only artistic excellence but also business excellence.
Creative businesses are often judged solely by their artistic output. The Pumicestone Business Excellence Awards acknowledge something broader: the ability to build sustainable enterprises that contribute economically, culturally and socially to their communities.
Larrikin Puppets has always believed that creativity and entrepreneurship belong together. Every puppet show, school workshop, television appearance, podcast episode and community event is part of a larger mission to bring imagination, laughter and storytelling into people’s lives.
This award is a celebration of that mission.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us along the way. To the schools, libraries, festivals, councils, childcare centres, theatres, television producers, community organisations and families who have invited us into their spaces, thank you.
Thank you also to Ariana Doolan MP for creating an event that shines a spotlight on local businesses and the people behind them, and congratulations to all finalists and winners who continue to strengthen the Pumicestone region through their hard work and innovation.
Winning the Creative Industries Award is a tremendous honour, but perhaps more importantly, it is encouragement to keep creating, keep innovating and keep sharing the magic of puppetry with audiences everywhere.
After all, even at a formal business awards ceremony, a puppet can still steal the show.
⸻
Looking for Award-Winning Puppetry Entertainment?
Larrikin Puppets provides award-winning puppetry entertainment for festivals, schools, libraries, shopping centres, theatres, television productions, film projects, corporate events and community celebrations throughout Australia.
To discuss your next event or production, contact Larrikin Puppets and discover how professional puppetry can bring unforgettable characters, laughter and storytelling to your audience.
We recently enjoyed a wonderful Brisbane catch-up with UK puppeteer Laura Bacon, performer of Patsy May from Britain’s Got Talent. It was a special opportunity to connect here in Queensland while she was visiting Australia from the United Kingdom.
Laura Bacon and Patsy May in Brisbane made for a memorable meeting, especially for Troggg, who was very excited to finally meet the legendary character in person.
From Britain’s Got Talent to Global Touring Productions
Many audiences first discovered Patsy May during her unforgettable appearance on Britain’s Got Talent. Bold, fearless and brilliantly funny, the character quickly gained international attention and showcased the power of contemporary puppetry on mainstream television.
Here is the performance that introduced Patsy May to a global audience:
Beyond Britain’s Got Talent, Laura Bacon has worked across major international productions. She performed in Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, a large-scale prequel to Jim Henson’s original 1982 film, requiring extraordinary technical precision and endurance.
Her stage credits include performing in the UK leg of Disney’s Winnie the Pooh stage production, bringing beloved characters Piglet, Kanga and Roo to life for theatre audiences.
Laura has also toured with Coldplay, performing with the Henson puppet band The Weirdos as part of the Coldplay world tour. It is a remarkable example of puppetry crossing into large-scale live music performance at stadium level.
Talking with Laura Bacon about Patsy May in Brisbane led to inspiring conversations about touring, television production, character building, physical stamina behind the monitor, and the strength of the global puppetry community.
Troggg Meets Patsy May in Brisbane
One of the highlights of Laura Bacon and Patsy May visiting Brisbane was Troggg finally meeting Patsy May face to face.
About Laura Bacon
Laura Bacon is a UK-based professional puppeteer whose work spans live theatre, international touring, television and major film productions. She is best known for performing Patsy May on Britain’s Got Talent and for her work on Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
Her diverse career includes Disney theatre productions, arena tours, and large-scale screen projects, demonstrating the versatility and artistry of contemporary puppetry.
Laura Bacon and Patsy May catching up with us in Brisbane is a reminder of how connected the international puppetry world truly is. From UK theatre stages to Netflix productions, from Coldplay stadium tours to some TV work in Sydney, puppetry continues to evolve and inspire audiences around the world.
If you would like to explore more about our professional puppet shows here in Australia and international collaborations, visit:
Larrikin Puppets
As we look back on 2025, we’re feeling exhausted, but also grateful, and a little bit amazed by just how much we’ve done this year.
One of the biggest focuses of our year has been screen work. Early in the year, we spent a significant amount of time at Pluggas Studio on the Sunshine Coast filming the pilot for our children’s TV series “Yompers“.
Yompers follows the social lives of children who attend a whimsical, multi-species vacation care run by four wise, but hilarious Yompers who bring insight, peace, love and laughter. It takes a Yomper to raise a community. Featuring 20+ puppet characters per episode, human actors include children in vacation care and the teenage and young adult assistants who help run things – the Yomper “Helping Hands”.
And as part of Yompers, we were excited and honoured to once again collaborate with members of iconic Australian band Regurgitator, with Ben Ely voicing the Snowball, Quan Yeomans voicing Slate the Cat, and the band also recording the theme song for the series. Brett’s brother Todd Hansen along with his King Parrot bandmate Andrew Squiz Squires also recorded the music for the puppet band segment of the show, with vocals by Madeleine York.
Throughout the year we held meetings about Yompers with producers, investors and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, and we now have a trailer being shown to networks and industry decision makers. We are hopeful that Yompers will continue to move forward toward a full season, whether in Australia or overseas.
We also performed the puppetry for the new educational kids TV series “Nature Knows”, which was filmed at Pluggas Studio. The federally funded series is all about blue carbon and how caring for our wetlands can help curb climate change and protect our biodiversity. The puppets were beautifully built by Katherine Hannaford.
Additional video projects this year included work on new videos for Miss Nicky Says, the Leave Stress at Home road safety campaign starring Scrambles as a stress monster, and continued growth of our YouTube channel’s nursery rhyme videos. While live performance often takes priority, filmed content remains a key part of our creative future and we are excited to return to creating more video content in the year ahead.
We were proud to receive several grants in 2025 supporting both our creative and business development. Elissa was awarded two RADF grants from the City of Moreton Bay and Arts Queensland, including a Creative Cities Grant to co-produce and co-direct our next large-scale theatre production, “Zietta and the Little Larrikins: A Celebration of Culture, Connection & Creativity”, and a Continue Creating Grant supporting early scriptwriting and set development for the same work. These grants supported puppet-building, set design, music production, filming, and the launch of this original children’s puppet theatre project for ages 5–9 and their families. Brett was also awarded a Business Basics Grant from the Department of Small and Family Business to develop “Little Larrikins Learning”, a video streaming educational platform delivering puppet-led HASS content for children aged 4–9. Together, this support enabled us to grow both our artistic practice and our educational reach. A big thank you to City of Moreton Bay, Arts Queensland and Queensland Government for their support.
This year saw the launch of our brand new podcast, “Little Larrikins Podcast“. Episode 1 is now available, with Episode 2 currently in the editing stage. It’s a zany, fast-paced, feel-good listen for kids, families, homeschoolers, and classrooms! Each episode bursts with music, jokes, learning, and puppet fun while shining a light on the world of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS).
We’re also excited to share that Elissa has written a children’s book based on our ocean-themed puppet show “Marina’s Marine Adventure“. With beautiful illustrations by Jannata Dea, the new book will launch in the new year.
In November, Elissa and Brett were flown to Sydney to speak at the 40th Anniversary Conference of NEIS and Self-Employment Assistance at the ParkRoyal Darling Harbour. We were honoured to deliver the keynote speech at the gala dinner, with Brett, Elissa, Troggg and Marina all part of the presentation. It was a joyful night filled with laughter, warm reactions and plenty of photos with the puppets.
Our presentation explored the beginnings of Larrikin Puppets through the NEIS program 13 years ago, highlights from our live shows, moments from our screen work and a preview of Yompers.
Touring highlights throughout the year included:
A massive Queensland Outback tour of performances in Miles, Roma, Mitchell, Charleville, Wyandra, Winton and Barcaldine.
A week based in Toowoomba, delivering OSHC performances and workshops across Toowoomba and Dalby.
Returning to the Snowflakes in Stanthorpe Festival, where the nicest audiences attended our puppet show, often multiple times across the three days of performances. We also got to meet and spend time with childhood hero Eric Summons, who famously starred in 1980s children’s TV shows Boris’ Breakfast Club (as Boris), Seven’s Super Saturday Show (with Agro) and Wombat (also with Agro).
We performed at a wide range of pubs, clubs and RSLs, including Tewantin Noosa RSL, The Junction Hotel Annerley, The Koala Tavern Capalaba, Alexandra Hills Hotel, and North Lakes Sports Club.
We also enjoyed performing “All Together Now: A Celebration of Cultural Diversity” as part of the Anywhere Theatre Festival, with huge thanks to City of Moreton Bay for curating these sessions, and “Marina’s Marine Adventure” at many libraries across South East Queensland.
Our bread and butter continues to be live performances in schools and childcare centres, and this year we reached several milestones by performing for clients who have booked us for ten consecutive years.
This year we also made time for professional development, from a marionette session with Neil Fainges to Elissa taking part in a shadow puppetry workshop with Catherine O’Neill from Little Big World Puppet Company, along with catch-ups with legendary puppeteer Dennis Murphy in Toowoomba.
Our annual Christmas season began in late November with performances at schools, OSHC programs, childcare Christmas parties and evening carols events. We rounded out the year in our home community of Bribie Island, presenting both daytime and evening performances at the Bribie Community Hall in Woorim, shared with the wonderful Rosanna Valentina (Magic Moments in Oz) and Monty the Magical Dragon (played by Greg Jones), making it a joyful and meaningful way to close the year.
In 2026 we look forward to officially launching Zietta and the Little Larrikins at the Redcliffe Entertainment Centre in May, and appearing at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival in April, as part of the children’s program, performing a new and extended version of our crowd-pleasing, award-winning Kids Comedy Puppet Show across 16 performances at Kindred Studios in South Yarra. Tickets are already selling well, and we can’t wait to bring our puppets to Melbourne audiences for the first time as part of this prestigious festival. We’ll also be releasing more episodes of Little Larrikins Podcast, rolling out our new video streaming service Little Larrikins Learning, and continuing progress on Yompers.
Thank you for supporting Larrikin Puppets throughout 2025. We could not do this without you.
Woorim Bribie Respite Community Hall – 96-108 Arcadia Ave, Woorim QLD 4507
Two shows, heaps of laughs! Enjoy a magical adventure with Monty The Magical Dragon plus a colourful comedy puppet show from Larrikin Puppets. Perfect for families with kids 9 and under.
Monty the Magical Dragon is a cheeky, charming and a cuddly fellow. Enjoy an exciting family spectacular full of delightful surprises. It’s loaded with fun, funny and clever magic.
Monty will have the audience screaming with joy and leave them spellbound.
You are in for a treat with a marvellous and memorable journey into the life of a magical dragon.
Created by Rosanna Valentina, a brilliant children’s entertainer with over 25yrs of experience. She really knows how to get the best from her audiences.
These visually delightful characters will thoroughly entertain, with fabulous audience interaction and comedy.
Award-winning Larrikin Puppets, established in 2012, is a thriving Australian puppetry arts company founded by Brett Hansen. His wife, Elissa Jenkins, joins him as co-puppeteer. They specialise in children’s entertainment and kids music, with their own YouTube channel of puppet music videos and original songs on Spotify.
Brett and Elissa, who have received training in the USA under Jim Henson puppeteers from The Muppets and Sesame Street, provide child and family audiences with wide-eyed wonder, joy and laughs from beginning to end.
Fun characters Troggg, Marina, Freerange the Chicken, Scrambles, Frizzby, Flossy and their cast of puppet friends capture the imaginations of children and bring out every adult’s inner child.
Larrikin Puppets is passionate about bringing wide-eyed wonder to children and families everywhere and work each day to make the world a more whimsical place for them to enjoy.
We hope you enjoy seeing Larrikin Puppets and Monty the Magical Dragon on stage on Monday 22nd December, 2025!
And then that evening we have a Christmas performance starting at 6:30pm! Same venue! Same acts! But Christmas themed!
Book now: 
Facebook Event Page: 