Join Puppet’s Up! International Puppet Festival on August 9, 2025, for a one-night-only cabaret performance in honour of Noreen Young.
While 2025 is NOT a festival year (remember that the festival now has biennial format so ALL the magic will return in August of 2026) the Puppets Up! organizers wanted to bring together the puppeteers, who have long admired Noreen Young, in a joyful reunion.
Jenny Sheffield, Artistic Director of Puppets Up! says that “Noreen loved the cabaret, and all the hilarious nonsense that went on both in front of, and behind the curtains. By bringing together willing puppeteers (they are all, incredibly, donating their time) we can provide a venue for their personal creativity, as well as give a final recognition of Noreen in Puppets Up! style.”
“The naughtier the better” was always Noreen’s instruction to the puppeteers, and the cabaret promises to be a raucous, uncensored, adults-only evening..
Featuring hosts Stephen Brathwaite and Allan Martin with special puppet friends and guests including (but not limited to) some favourite performers like Joshua Holden, Nick di Gaetano, Peter Schaefer (Tanglewood), Matt Ficner, Frank Meshkuleit, Ann Powell (Puppetmongers), Joey Graff and Emily Neufeld (Department of Creative Disobedience), Ingrid Hansen (SNAFU), Adam Francis Proulx, Puzzle Theatre, Ben Durocher, and Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers.
“In true Noreen style, we will all have some fun and also raise some funds,” says Jane Torrance, Chair of Puppets Up! Proceeds from the sale of tickets will go to the Noreen Young Award for the Arts and the 2026 Puppets Up! International Puppet Festival.
Tickets are priced at $100 (includes all taxes, fees, and a bit of swag) and are available at Tickets Please. Doors of the Ron Caron Theatre at the Almonte Old Town Hall open at 6:30 with a cash bar available. The cabaret will start at 7:30.
