Sydney Puppet Theatre hang out in Bowral

The puppeteer duo from New Berrima recently returned from the Harmony World Puppet Carnival in Bangkok, Thailand, where they were invited to take their show, Nella's Wings.

The 10 day carnival featured more than 150 events with participants from 80 countries who performed 122 puppet shows, workshops, videos and films.

Nella's Wings received a standing ovation at the carnival, was one of three shows nominated for best design and was awarded a Special Children's Award by the Thai Minister for Culture.

Lucy Nias, another Highlands local who previously worked for the BBC, was the designer for Nella's Wings.

Sue and Steve, who have been performing together for more than 30 years, were very pleased to welcome the acting Australian Embassy deputy head of mission Ms Sarah Roberts to the performance in Bangkok.

Sue said she fell into puppetry by sheer accident and chance.

It was one of those things that I fell into, and really liked it, and it liked me," she said.

"I was sitting in an agent's office as a young actor, trying to get auditions, when the agent got a call from the Marionette Theatre of Australia."

"She actually looked at me and said 'You'll do, do you want to audition?' and auditions were really scarce so of course I said yes."

"I got the job school touring with a show called Puppet Power."

"With the excellent artists at the Marionette Theatre of Australia, I learnt so much so quickly, including how to repair the puppets while we were on the road, all about the different types of glue and so on."

"We did up to 15 shows a week performing in schools in the eastern states of Australia."

Sue and Steve, who now work together for their company Sydney Puppet Theatre, met through their work and quickly developed an appreciation for the craft.

"When we moved into puppetry we had to learn to design and craft and perform. There's a lot of original work done in puppetry."

Sue said puppetry was a supportive, close community.

"I think it's something to do with the fact that people work in small groups and their shows tend to reflect their personalities and talents," she said.

"Puppeteers have to put so much of themselves into their work. They have a high level of respect for what other puppeteers do."

Sue said it was great to be able to take shows overseas to Europe, Asia and Central America.

"Most recently, Nella's Wings has been performed at two festivals in Turkey, two in Indonesia, one in Mexico, just recently in Bangkok and a number of performances in Sydney and Melbourne," she said.

Sue and Steve will bring their show Oh Rats! to the Highlands this weekend, for its first ever local performance.

"Oh Rats! is theatre of delight," Sue said.

"Magica, the magician, is sent to train a new magician's assistant.

"The new assistant has no idea of what is going on and his world is besieged by rats, sausages and a duck with a personality crisis.

"The assistant soon encounters his own hilarious crisis - but that would be giving the game away."

For anyone who thinks puppetry is only for kids, the feedback from Sue and Steve's shows says otherwise.

"I have parents tell me all the time they were surprised they enjoyed it so much," Sue said.

"It's very much for everyone, it's not a children's medium. It's very much a public medium."

Oh Rats! will be performed by Sydney Puppet Theatre this Sunday, November 30 as part of the Southern Highlands Arts Festival.

Oh Rats! will take place at 11.30am at Kazcare Hall, 13-19 Kirkham Road, Bowral.

Tickets can be purchased at the door, $10 per ticket and $8 per ticket for a group of four or more.