FKA TWIGS EUSEXUA TOUR
I co-led a team of makers in creating a Winged Beast with the face of FKA Twigs herslef hidden behind the Monsters teeth for her Eusexua 2025 World Tour. We worked closely with her team of creatives in London, Germany and LA through a mad dash of Design, Research and making over the course of 3 weeks.
The result was a set of wings split into 6, each to be controlled by a dancer and a chrome finished replica of Twigs to be reveal to the crowd during her song Two Weeks. During Rehearsals ls final adjustments were made and movements were choreographed with the team of dancers turned puppeteers.
On the European leg of the Tour I worked as the Puppet Tech and Coordinator, making sure that the puppet in its multiple travel cases was in the right place and ready to go while looking and perfroming to its highest standard.
Puppet Build team – Em Spoor and Cat Rock
Sculpture – Mollie Carter
Additional Makers – Alastair Fleming, Emily Wright, Helena Houghton
Deisgn by Sub Global
Creative Direction – Jordan Hemmingway and FKA Twigs
Movement Team – Irma and Marne Van Opstal
Performers – Cat Rock, Mesh Henry, Edd Soares, Emiliano Jimenez, James Vu Anh Pham, Jaxon Willard, Maui Claire, Max Cookward, Shivawn Joubert, JuJuliete
Production photos and behind the scenes images to follow official end of tour.
PRACTIC CREATIONS
“Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” uses the latest scientific research and cutting-edge visual effects to bring this frozen world to life like never before, unveiling the spectacular habitats and inhabitants of ancient Earth for a one-of-a-kind experience. From towering woolly mammoths to elusive snow sloths, terrifying saber-toothed tigers to resilient dwarf elephants (only 3 feet tall), the series reveals the epic struggles and unexpected stories of animals that once ruled the Ice Age. Viewers will journey through vast tundras, barren deserts, expanding grasslands and melting permafrost as these creatures battle for survival in the face of extreme climates, shifting landscapes and the onset of “The Big Freeze,” and ultimately, “The Big Melt.”
The series is produced by the world-renowned team at BBC Studios Natural History Unit with support from the photorealistic visual effects of Framestore.
The five-part docuseries is set to premiere globally November 26 2025.
Behind the scenes and more information to be revealed !
WALNUT OF KNOWLEDGE
Under the shadow of a walnut tree, a boy explores the histories and cultures of his mother’s land. An exploration of belonging to two lands; feelings of belonging and not belonging.
Supported by the BFI Doc Society’s Made of Truth Fund, the Elephant Fund, and the West of England Creative Grant.
Director – Niyaz Saghari
Producer – Xenia Glen
Executive Producer – Luke Moody
Worked to create shadow puppets and atmospheres to complement the creative vision.
GARDEN OF WORLDS
Whilst seeking solace in a Japanese garden, an out-of-step woman and an offbeat teenager meet by chance. Social misfits with a shared sense of loneliness, the unlikely pair bond over classical poetry, shoemaking and bad cooking. But the heartfelt companionship that could save them might also ruin them…
By: Makoto Shinkai, adapted by Whole Hog Theatre
Director: Alexandra Rutter
Puppet Design: Mikalya R. Teodoro
Crow Puppet Mechanism with folding wings and tail.
HI!STREET FESTIVAL
Hi! Street Fest was Historic England’s largest and final commission as part of the High Streets Action Zone Programme, a four year programme to revitalise more than 60 high streets. Across the country Hi! Street Fest engaged with more than 60,000 people in the summer of 2023, all coming together for a series of community led street parties and carnivals that celebrated England’s high streets.
I worked with the community of Gosport to create a puppet they feel represented them. Children from the community worked on patches to add to the Divers suit and creative workshops in the community were held in the run up to the day.
ALICE'S ADVENTURES UNDERGROUND
Alice’s Adventures Underground is coming back to London! Due to being in storage for a lengthy period, nearly all of the puppets required extensive maintenance, and some were even remade entirely.
Sadly due to unknown reason the show is currently on hold.
DINOSAUR WORLD LIVE V.2
For fifteen months I was part of the team making the second version of the Dinosaur World Live puppets for the international tour. My role on the show was pattern cutting and carving plastazote, cladding mechanisms, and an array of finishes including scrimming fabric and fur.
Co-studio heads – Max Humphries and Cheryl Brown
Senior Puppet Maker – Charlie Findlay
Senior Puppet Technician & Consultant – Em Cooper
Makers – Em Spoor, Suzanne Law, Chesley Lee, Arianna Mengarelli, Kira- Rose Kemp, Tina Napaat Chinweerpunt Minh Hanh
Painter – Maya Kazmarski
Workshop Dog – Spud
Titus The T-Rex
Brutus the Triceratops
Juliet the Segnosaurus
Maintenance
While we are building the second set of Dinosaur puppets, the first set, (which was made in 2016) has been returning to the workshop for regular maintenance.
Recently baby Beatrice the triceratops was damaged in a truck pack. Her head fan was cracked, so I reinforced it and gave her a M.O.T, with her neck rings replaced, new canvas in her neck, and a full repaint and glaze.
The first image shows her before the repaint.
A new musical version of the classic novel directed by Michael Fentiman, with puppetry direction by Toby Olie. I worked again with Max Humphries and Cheryl ‘Chuck’ Brown on an Aslan puppet, a cat and multiple evil creature heads.
I was brought in towards the end of the project to assist with the fabrication elements. Getting Aslan’s Plastazote body ready for painting by scrimming (a method in which the Plastazote is covered in fabric and primed) and carving the cat’s body and legs.
I recently completed maintenance and structural reinforcements on the Aslan puppet, as well as a repaint of his gold detailing when the show changed theatres and went on tour.
DRAGONS AND MYTHICAL BEASTS LIVE
The Indrik
When I joined the ‘Dragons and Mythical Beast’ team, the carving of the Indrik was already complete. I was part of the team that prep the Indrik for painting and workshopped the paint finish and embellishments needed to bring the Indrik to life.
The Indrik was the final and tallest puppet of the show and needed to be a showstopper.I prepped and covered hundred of twigs with fabric before attaching them to the body. Then created texture to create the tree bark effect before prepping, painting and glazing.
Haldor the stone troll
‘Haldor the Stone Troll’ is designed to be puppeteered by three people, one inside the body, wearing the legs and controlling the head, and one on each arm. In the video you can see Izzy Bristow harnessed inside of the Stone Troll body doing a test run of the legs to see if more coverage was needed to conceal the puppeteer.
maintenance
Being in the Nicoll workshop for ‘Dinosaur World Live’ meant that I had a hand in the maintenance for the Dragons and Mythical Beast puppets. On tour they have a technician who maintains the puppets, but when their problems are too difficult to fix on the road or if they need aesthetic touch-ups, they come back to the workshop.
SOMETHING'S FISHY...
Turbulent weather, non-stop rain and flash floods, not to mention Storm Karen, lead to a changed Earth, no longer belonging to the humans but the Fish!
Watch the fishies get accustomed to their new life, exploring the empty homes of the humans and making Earth their own, maybe picking up a few of our habits on the way. Filmed on mobile phones and made with whatever materials available to us at the time, ‘Something’s Fishy…’ is an exploration into puppetry using traditional and new techniques to tell our story. All parts of the film were filmed separately with the makers in Wales, England and even the Netherlands. Everything was completed over ten weeks in complete Covid lockdown with no in-person communication.
Creative director and group leader – Em Spoor
Year 2 Students – Ania Levy, Sacha Van Sutphen, and Lizzie Doody
During the making part of the project, I made weekly vlogs to help myself learn how to edit on Abobe Premiere Pro. It documents my process and experience with making a puppet film while working in complete isolation in my childhood bedroom on top of dealing with a worldwide pandemic. The footage spans three weeks and shows a personal look into my process and contribution to the final film.
You can also check out the full sketchbook I completed during the research, design and make processes by clicking the link below to view my digital sketchbook.
Plan and storyboard for a Marionette Whale Shark along with the final puppet made entirely from cardboard, with a carved body and strips of corrugated cardboard and watercolour paint to finish.
