Meet Poppet: The Giant Puppet at the Heart of The Big One Hundred

We're delighted to introduce Poppet, the spectacular giant puppet created for The Big One Hundred.

Designed especially for Ashdown Forest, Poppet is a larger-than-life creature inspired by the landscape, wildlife and imagination of the Forest itself. Operated by a team of ten puppeteers, the giant inflatable puppet is an ambitious feat of design, performance and puppetry that pushes the boundaries of live outdoor theatre.

Poppet has been created by Trigger's Creative Director Angie Bual in collaboration with renowned artist and costume designer Jack Irving, whose extraordinary work has been seen everywhere from London Fashion Week to collaborations with Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Doja Cat and the Spice Girls.

The creature's origins lie in our Create a Creature competition, which invited children across Wealden to imagine a new inhabitant for Ashdown Forest. Hundreds of ideas were submitted, and one contribution gave us the perfect name: Poppet.

As Angie Bual explains:

“Our Create a Creature competition had a huge and varied response from children across the district - as a result we got the message, it was clear we needed to make something colourful, punky, fun and playful as a new gateway to nature. ‘Poppet' is the name that one of the children dreamt up, and it’s beautifully apt to convey our cheeky amorphous creature which takes on the guise of several creatures at once. We’ve been inspired by plant life, heather, gorse, an adder’s eyes, the Purple Emperor butterfly, and the green tiger beetle. You’ve got to see it to believe it!”

Inspired by heather, gorse, the Purple Emperor butterfly, the green tiger beetle and the adder, Poppet has been designed to personify Ashdown Forest and its remarkable biodiversity. It is part creature, part landscape and part imagination; a living artwork created to inspire people to connect with and care for this special place.

Poppet will make its first appearances as part of The Big One Hundred, a major programme of cultural events celebrating 100 years of Winnie-the-Pooh and looking ahead to the next century of Ashdown Forest. Visitors will be able to encounter the creature through interactive performances and activities that celebrate the Forest's wildlife, stories and future.

Following its debut in Ashdown Forest on 18–19 July, Poppet will tour across East Sussex throughout the summer, appearing in Hailsham, Sheffield Park and Garden, Uckfield and Herstmonceux Castle.

Click here to get your tickets to The Big One Hundred this summer