This November, the PARKROYAL Darling Harbour ballroom in Sydney will host an extraordinary celebration - and at the heart of it are Bribie Island’s own Larrikin Puppets. Puppeteers Brett Hansen and his wife Elissa Jenkins have been invited to be keynote speakers at the 40th Anniversary Gala of the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS) and Self-Employment Assistance. What began in 2012 as a small idea has grown into a national success story in live theatre, television, and music - and it all started with a blue puppet.
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From Bribie Island to the National Stage – Larrikin Puppets to Keynote at NEIS 40th Anniversary Gala
This November, the PARKROYAL Darling Harbour ballroom in Sydney will host an extraordinary celebration – and at the heart of it are Bribie Island’s own Larrikin Puppets. Puppeteers Brett Hansen and his wife Elissa Jenkins have been invited to be keynote speakers at the 40th Anniversary Gala of the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS) and Self-Employment Assistance. What began in 2012 as a small idea has grown into a national success story in live theatre, television, and music – and it all started with a blue puppet.
From Hardship to Hope
In 2012, Brett Hansen was at a crossroads. Recently divorced, unemployed, and struggling financially, he enrolled in NEIS through Sarina Russo Job Access. Unlike traditional unemployment pathways, NEIS provided practical training in small business management and one-on-one mentorship to help turn creative ideas into viable businesses. For Brett, it was life-changing. Puppetry had been a lifelong passion since he was three years old, inspired by Jim Henson’s puppet characters from The Muppets and Sesame Street, along with Aussie favourites like Agro, Ossie Ostrich, The Ferals, and Mr. Squiggle. NEIS gave Brett the tools to transform that passion into a career.
Small Beginnings
Larrikin Puppets’ first year was spent performing at backyard birthday parties, before expanding into schools, childcare centres, libraries, and festivals. Brett even began puppeteering in short films, and on Briz 31 TV shows, gaining early screen experience.
His signature character, “Troggg” the Blue Monster (spelt with three Gs – the middle G is silent), became an instant crowd favourite, soon landing MC gigs at festivals, launch events, and even wedding receptions.
Taking Puppetry Global
In 2016, Brett and Elissa travelled to the United States for intensive training at The Puppet Kitchen (New York) and Beyond the Sock (University of North Texas) with professional Jim Henson Company
puppeteers – legendary heroes of Brett’s from The Muppets and Sesame Street. The training focused on monitor puppetry for TV and film, puppet building, and refining performance technique. Brett also performed at the Puppetry Arts Festival of Brooklyn, marking an international career highlight. Returning home to Bribie, Elissa joined the company full-time, helping expand its shows, characters, and workshops. Soon after, bigger opportunities began to arrive.
Music, TV, and National Exposure
After writing and releasing their own original songs for their puppet shows (which can be heard on Spotify and Apple Music), Larrikin Puppets caught the eye of the music industry, performing puppetry in a music video by Aussie rock legends Regurgitator, and later performing those same Regurgitator puppet caricatures live on stage with the band, as well as performing their regular Larrikin Puppets show as the opening support act. More similar projects came up for the duo, including music videos with prominent Melbourne-based hip hop artist Illy (a duet with Brisbane band WAAX), Mackay-based pop sensation Tia Gostelow, local Brisbane rockers Gutterfire, and New Zealand children’s artist Miss Nicky.
They were also invited to appear on a range of television programs,
including:
- Totally Wild (kids edu-tainment series)
- Shake Takes (kids TV series)
- The Bureau of Magical Things (kids drama series)
- Todd Sampson’s Mirror Mirror (documentary series)
- A new TV series pilot starring celebrity Chef Jason Roberts from Studio
10 and Ready Steady Cook. - Regular spots on Juiced TV at the Queensland Children’s Hospital.
In 2023, Elissa and Troggg took to the stage at TEDxBrisbane to present a TED talk about the power of puppetry to engage children and communities in spaces beyond fancy theatres, and why puppetry is a
powerful and important medium in the world of entertainment. With Brett hidden behind the puppet stage performing Troggg, the talk combined live puppetry with Elissa’s storytelling, giving the audience an insight into the magic behind the scenes. This marked another milestone in Larrikin Puppets’ journey, reaching a global platform like TEDx.
Touring Across Australia
From Bribie Island, Brett and Elissa tour across Queensland and beyond, bringing puppetry to remote outback towns like Bourke, Lightning Ridge, Winton, and Charleville, as well as regional centres like
Cairns, Townsville, the Whitsundays and Newcastle. For many of these communities, Larrikin Puppets provides the very first experience of live theatre or puppetry.
They’ve also performed at major festivals including:
Gympie Music Muster, Rockhampton River Festival, Gladstone Harbour Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, Ipswich Festival, Redcliffe Sails Festival, Snowflakes in Stanthorpe, and Cooroy Fusion Festival, plus numerous agricultural shows and Christmas carol events across Queensland.
Awards and Large-Scale Theatre
In 2021, Larrikin Puppets won ‘Best Kids Live Show‘ at the national What’s On 4 Kids Awards, alongside the People’s Choice Award for ‘Best School-Aged Activity’.
In 2022, they presented “Hijabi Girl – A Musical Puppet Show”, a large-scale theatre adaptation of the children’s book by Hazel Edwards OAM and Ozge Alkan. This production represented the company’s most ambitious undertaking to date, seamlessly weaving important social themes into an entertaining format. It also brought together a significantly larger creative team beyond Brett and Elissa, supported by
an expansive set designed for major theatre stages, as well as a complex lighting rig, a cast of talented voice actors and original songs.
Ongoing projects include:
- A TV pilot “Yompers” – a series about animals who run a whimsical vacation care centre set on Bribie Island.
- Zietta and the Little Larrikins – their next big theatre production made for larger stages.
- An upcoming children’s book based on one of their touring puppet shows.
- A new educational podcast.
- Brett and Elissa also recently met with local MP Ariana Doolan and Queensland Minister for Small and Family Business, the Hon. Steve Minnikin MP, to celebrate receiving a Business Basics Grant. The funding is enabling them to develop a vibrant new digital resource for
childcare centres, schools and homeschooling parents, enriching children’s learning through storytelling, creativity and fun.
https://www.facebook.com/events/587939391003857
Coming Full Circle
For Brett and Elissa, the invitation to keynote at the NEIS Gala in Sydney is more than recognition. It’s a celebration of the program that made Brett’s dream possible. “From our little Bribie Island home studio to the stages of Sydney, it’s been an incredible journey,” Brett says. “And it shows that creativity,
persistence, and a little larrikin spirit can take you anywhere.”
This November, when they step onto the Sydney stage with Troggg the blue monster by their side, it won’t just be a speech. It will be a moment of pride for Bribie Island, and a celebration of the magic of puppetry.
You can find Larrikin Puppets on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, their popular YouTube channel, and all of their songs on Spotify and Apple Music. Plus their official website www.larrikinpuppets.com.au
