Sun 6 Sep, 11am-6pm. Drop-in, booking recommended.
Assembly Room
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 11am–6pm |
| Wednesday | 11am–6pm |
| Thursday | 11am–9pm |
| Friday | 11am–6pm |
| Saturday | 11am–6pm |
| Sunday | 11am–6pm |
The day consists of talks, workshops and performances with puppetry, music and movement.
Content includes themes relating to animal cruelty and the legacies of colonialism.
The event also includes large-scale animal puppetry, which some audiences may find intense or unexpected. Please give them space so they can move freely.
This event is free and drop-in, but we encourage you to reserve your spot by clicking ‘Book Now’.
Join us for a day of puppetry, movement and music, presented as part of Imagining Animals at the Tower of London—an invitation for people of all ages to imagine and celebrate animals.
Led by artists Mervyn Millar and Suzy Willson, Imagining Animals is inspired by animals across the world, including those once kept at The Royal Menagerie at the Tower for over 600 years.
As part of the Backyard Biennial finale celebrations, enjoy short performances throughout the day and take part in shadow puppet-making, drawing and movement workshops.
Award-winning poet Arji Manuelpillai will present a new commission inspired by the project, reflecting on themes of empire, journeys, and our relationship with the more-than-human world.
The programme also includes a panel discussion bringing together artists and wildlife experts reimagining our relationship with other animals and new ways of coexisting.
The full event schedule, including participating artists and speakers, will be announced at a later date.
This event is part of Backyard Biennial.
Visit the Tower of London from 19–31 August (excluding 25 August) to experience Imagining Animals, a new commission by Historic Royal Palaces.
Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) is an independent charity that loves and looks after six of the most wonderful palaces in the world: the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, the Banqueting House at Whitehall, Kew Palace, and Hillsborough Castle and Gardens.
Its work combines conservation, research, and storytelling, bringing nearly 1,000 years of royal history to life through daily live programming, exhibitions, events, learning programmes, and community engagement. They also look after over 60,000 objects, including the internationally significant Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, a collection of royal and court dress, from the 16th century to the present day.
Official Site | Historic Royal Palaces
Instagram: @historicroyalpalaces
TikTok: @historic.royal.palaces
X: @TowerOfLondon and @HRP_palaces
Facebook: Tower of London and Historic Royal Palaces
Mervyn Millar is a puppeteer, theatre director and Artistic Director of Significant Object, a company he founded to create visually striking, emotionally resonant work through puppetry and object-based performance. Over several decades, he has been a leading figure in the development of contemporary puppetry in the UK and internationally.
He is well known for his work as part of the original creative team for War Horse, and has worked extensively with the National Theatre, Handspring Puppet Company, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. His directing and puppetry credits include Aïda at the Paris Opera, Circus 1903, The Hatchling, Paul McCartney’s Appreciate, and My Neighbour Totoro (Associate). He was awarded an Arts Foundation Fellowship for his work in puppetry.
@thismervynmillar
Suzy Willson is a multi-award-winning British choreographer and director. She co-founded the performance company Clod Ensemble and, over nearly three decades, has created an extraordinary body of work that pushes the boundaries of choreographic practice. Her work is provocative, uncompromising and finely crafted, and has been presented internationally in art galleries, theatres, dance houses and public spaces.
Recurring themes include the chorus and collective movement, the ethics of care and medicine, architecture and the built environment, and the movement of natural phenomena. From the choral lament Silver Swan in Tate Modern’s vast Turbine Hall to AnAnatomie, which dissected Sadler’s Wells’ auditorium and stage, Suzy’s work consistently invites audiences to see familiar spaces from new perspectives.
She is an Honorary Professor at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, and a regular contributor to journals and books on performance and medicine.
@clod.ensemble
Suzy Willson – Clod Ensemble
Paul Clark is a British composer, musician and educator, and Co-Artistic Director of Clod Ensemble, the London-based performance company he co-founded with choreographer Suzy Willson. His work sits at the intersection of music, theatre and performance, and he has created critically acclaimed original scores for almost all of Clod Ensemble’s productions.
Clark’s compositions range from intimate acoustic pieces to large-scale electroacoustic and multi-speaker installations, often developed in direct dialogue with movement and visual performance. Alongside Clod Ensemble, he has collaborated widely across disciplines, working with artists including opera singer Renée Fleming, producer Danger Mouse, Manchester Collective, and theatre director Katie Mitchell, for whom he has written more than thirty scores.
He is also the founder of Ear Opener, an education initiative supporting young people to develop confidence and skills in music composition through workshops, schools programmes and online resources. His work in this field has made him a leading advocate for accessible, cross-genre music education.
Clark’s practice is characterised by experimentation, collaboration, and a sustained interest in how sound interacts with bodies, space and storytelling across contemporary performance.
@clod.ensemble
Paul Clark – Clod Ensemble
Arji Manuelpillai is a poet, performer and creative facilitator based in London. He was the Jerwood/Arvon Mentee mentored by Hannah Lowe. Arji’s debut pamphlet Mutton Rolls was published with Out-Spoken Press in 2020 and his debut collection Improvised Explosive Device was released in the Autumn of 2022 with Penned in the Margins. This highly acclaimed book was noted in The Telegraph’s Top 20 poetry books of the year, as well as in The Guardian’s best recent poetry section. It was also the Winter PBS selection and Shortlisted for the Derek Walcott Prize. Arji is host of Arji’s Poetry Pickle Jar, a podcast for poetry fans and he is also the PBS pamphlet choice selector. Arji has written many commissions for names including Her Royal Highness, Princess of Wales, The Southbank Centre, The Royal British Legion and The Sea Containers Hotel.
@arjimanuelpillai
Arji Manuelpillai – Poet & Performer
