The Duschenes family:
100 years of puppets
Hamburg, 1920s
Our story begins four generations ago, in Hamburg, Germany.
These puppets, amongst a group of about 40, were almost certainly made by Grete Duschenes, Jeremy’s paternal grandmother, for her four boys Herbert, Rolf, Lutz and Mario to put on shows at home in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. The puppet bodies are of wood, and the sewing and painting of the faces is exquisite.
We had only ever seen these puppets in photographs until they were discovered a few years ago, having survived the family’s flight from Nazi Germany.
Geneva, 1947
Mario was studying at the Conservatoire de Geneve after World War II when he put on a production of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale with puppets and music. The heads are of papier mâché, the body core of wood, and the limbs are made of lead. For their size they are surprisingly heavy.
Montreal, 1968–76
In the 1960s, Mario had settled in Montreal and was making a name for himself as a conductor and music teacher. In 1968, he put on another production of The Soldier’s Tale with a Year 9 class of students at a local secondary school. His son Jeremy was one of the participants.
The puppets were student-built, heads of papier mâché on polystyrene painted quite crudely, wooden bodies made by Mario in the family basement, and well-sewn costumes which suggest parental assistance. The puppets are considerably taller than their predecessors. Sadly no photographic record of this production remains, though a few of the puppets have survived.
Jeremy would later go on to produce The Soldier’s Tale again with friends in Montreal in 1974, followed by A Christmas Carol in 1976.
Cambridge, 1980
While at university, Jeremy founded the short-lived Cambridge Marionette Theatre and put on The Soldier’s Tale again. The participants were university students, as had been the case a generation earlier with the 1947 production.
St. Albans, 1999–2004
Jeremy ran the first projects that would later become the YPPT, working with Year 6 pupils at Aboyne Lodge Primary School to create various shows.
St. Albans, 2014
Jeremy and Caitlin founded the YPPT together and began the first pilot projects. In early 2015, the YPPT’s debut show was performed in London, St Albans and Watford: The Soldier’s Tale once again.
2025
2025: The Young People’s Puppet Theatre celebrated its 10th anniversary, having run over 150 shows. Jeremy and Caitlin returned to Canada in August 2025 to put on The Soldier’s Tale again with CAMMAC Music Centre, where Jeremy had previously performed the show in 1974.
Previous Productions
| Year | Show | School |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Aladdin | Galleywall Primary School |
| 2024 | Aladdin | West Thurrock Academy |
| 2024 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hillborough Junior School |
| 2024 | Edith and the Thief | De Havilland Primary School |
| 2024 | Henry's Art Shop | Beechfield Primary School |
| 2024 | Henry's Art Shop | Springfield Junior School |
| 2024 | How Not To Rob A Bank | Highwood Primary School |
| 2024 | How Not To Rob A Bank | Springfield Junior School |
| 2024 | How Not To Rob A Bank | West Thurrock Academy |
| 2024 | How Not To Rob A Bank | Summer camp |
| 2024 | Macbeth | Hillborough Junior School |
| 2024 | Macbeth | Little Reddings Primary School |
| 2024 | The Mechanical Gardener | Central Primary School |
| 2024 | The Mechanical Gardener | Highwood Primary School |
| 2024 | The Odyssey | De Havilland Primary School |
| 2024 | Professors Blue | Bourne Primary School |
| 2024 | Professors Blue | St Margaret's School |
| 2024 | Rumplestiltzkin | Central Primary School |
| 2024 | Rumplestiltzkin | Galleywall Primary School |
| 2024 | Street Party | Rhyl Primary School |
| 2024 | Street Party | Mandeville Primary School |
| 2024 | The Tempest | Bewick Bridge Primary School |
| 2024 | The Tempest | Hillborough Junior School |
| 2024 | The Tempest | Little Reddings Primary School |
| 2024 | The Tinderbox | Beechfield Primary School |
| 2024 | The Tinderbox | Springfield Junior School |
| 2024 | Theseus and the Minotaur | Hartsbourne Primary School |