The Spare Parts Puppet Theatre is located at 1–9 Short Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, in Pioneer Park, opposite the Fremantle railway station.
History The building was constructed as a commercial building in 1921. It is a two-storey limestone building with a corrugated iron roof, constructed in the Federation Free Classical style of architecture. The building was used as the State Shipping Service Office. In 1975 it was vested in the City of Fremantle and in September 1978 it was officially opened as the Fremantle Art Gallery. In 1988 it was refurbished to specifically accommodate the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre.
Heritage value The building is listed on the City of Fremantle's Municipal Heritage List.
Current use Spare Parts Puppet Theatre was founded by Peter Wilson, Cathryn Robinson and Beverley Campbell-Jackson in 1981, as part of an artist-in-residency program initiated by the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT)now Curtin University of Technology. The company's first project was a puppet adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus for the 1981 Festival of Perth. For the first seven years, the company was a touring company, but in 1988 it acquired the Fremantle Art Gallery as a permanent home. From 1997 through to 2001, the company was under the artistic direction of Noriko Nishimoto. In 2001 Philip Mitchell was appointed the company's new artistic director.
In April 2008 the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre hosted the 20th UNIMA (Union Internationals de la Marlonette) World Puppetry Festival and Congress.
In a 2022 collaboration with The Doge NFT, Spare Parts Puppet Theatre produced Australia's first NFT collection for a theatre company. They also built a Doge puppet, which now has its own TikTok.
The NFT collection was photographed by Louise Coghill.
Relocation In October 2025 the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre announced a decision to move from their original venue in Fremantle, committing to a redevelopment of the Ellie Eaton Theatre located in the Claremont Showgrounds as their new home. This move, supported by the Western Australian Government, Lotterywest and the Royal Agricultural Society of WA, followed the decision by the State Government to condemn the original theatre over safety and structural concerns for the aging venue.
Artistic Directors
Peter Wilson (1981–1997) Noriko Nishimoto (1997–2001) Philip Mitchell (2001–2026) Iain Grandage (2027–)
Awards +TypeOrganisationCategoryShow/EventYearNominationHelpmannBest Presentation for ChildrenOut of the Blue2003NominationHelpmannBest Visual or Physical Theatre ProductionH2O - a fantastical voyage2004NominationHelpmannBest Lighting DesignAndrew Lake/H2O - a fantastical voyage2004NominationHelpmannBest Presentation for ChildrenH2O - a fantastical voyage2004AwardPAAWABest ProductionThe Arrival2006NominationPAAWABest Supporting Actor (Male)Sanjiva Margio/The Arrival2006NominationPAAWABest Actor (Male)Giri Mazzella/The Arrival2006NominationPAAWABest DirectorPhilip Mitchell/The Arrival2006NominationPAAWABest Design in Any MediumJiri Zmitko/The Arrival2006NominationPAAWABest Design in Any MediumMichael Barlow/The Arrival2006NominationHelpmannBest Regional Touring ProductionThe Arrival2009NominationPAAWABest NewcomerBrian Liau/The Warrior and the Princess2014AwardFremantle Business AwardsOutstanding Cultural Enterprise2015AwardFremantle Business AwardsBusiness of the Year2015NominationPAAWABest Supporting Actor (Female)Rebecca Bradley/Farm2015NominationPAAWABest Actor (Female)Chloe Flockhard/Farm2015NominationPAAWABest DirectorPhilip Mitchell/Farm2015NominationPAAWABest ProductionFarm2015NominationPAAWABest Design in Any MediumMatt McVeigh/Farm2015NominationPAAWABest Design in Any MediumGraham Walne/Farm2015AwardFremantle Business AwardsOutsanding Cultural Enterprise2016NominationPAAWABest Actor (Female)Rebecca Bradley/Blueback2016NominationPAAWABest MusicLee Buddle/The Little Prince2017NominationPAAWABest Actor in a Mainstage Production (Male)Sam Longley/Tom Vickers and the Extraordinary Adventure of his Missing Sock2019AwardPAAWABest Mainstage ProductionOn Our Beach2020NominationPAAWABest Actor (Female)Rebecca Bradley/On Our Beach2020NominationPAAWABest Director of a Mainstage ProductionPhilip Mitchell/On Our Beach2020NominationPAAWABest Stage DesignCecile Williams/On Our Beach2020NominationPAAWABest Composition or ArrangingLee Buddle/On Our Beach2020AwardPAAWABest Mainstage ProductionBeanstalk2022AwardPAAWABest New WorkThe One Who Planted Trees2022NominationPAAWAOutstanding Performers in Leading RolesSam Longley/Beanstalk2022NominationPAAWAOutstanding Direction of a Mainstage ProductionPhilip Mitchell/The One Who Planted Trees2022NominationPAAWAOutstanding Composition or ArrangingMelanie Robinson & Carmel Dean/The One Who Planted Trees2022NominationPAAWAOutstanding Stage DesignLeon Hendroff & Clare Testoni/The One Who Planted Trees2022NominationPAAWAOutstanding Stage DesignBryan Woltjen/Beanstalk2022NominationPAAWABest Mainstage ProductionWilfred Godon McDonald Partridge2025NominationPAAWAOutstanding Performers in Leading RolesShane Adamczak/Pillow Fight2025
References
Further reading