Outpouring of Support Gets Roshina to Puppetry Programme in London

‘I am floored, grateful, and completely gobsmacked that this much generosity exists on the internet!’

South Africa (09 February 2026) – Two months ago, Roshina Ratnam was accepted into a two-month puppetry programme at the Curious School of Puppetry in London. It’s a huge accomplishment for a South African professional puppeteer, theatre-maker and educator.

“Some people have asked me why attending this intensive is so important to me. I keep going back to my very first puppetry production Sadako, written by our Peter Hayes and directed by the indomitable Jaqueline Dommise and with the most exquisitely made puppets by Janni Younge. Jason Potgieter trained our team with firmness and joy. He drilled the delicacy into us. The story of Sadako was one of war, innocence, grief and love. And it is the show that changed the trajectory of my career and instilled in me my deep love of puppetry.” shares Roshina.

Puppetry is a form of art that cuts into the rawness of truth and expression, qualities that Roshina loves.

“I love that well executed puppetry can cut your heart open like a surgeon’s knife. I love that puppets can say and do things that would never be tolerated by a human actor, they can be political, bawdy and confrontative as well as funny and poignant.”

“And when you surrender to the magic of puppetry both as a performer as well as an spectator, puppetry can take your breath away and leave you forever changed.”

That love was the push Roshina needed to make London happen. Like many artists, she explored formal funding avenues first. When that didn’t come through, she turned to her community and set up an online crowdfunding campaign to help cover the costs of travel, living, and tuition.

“Asking like this is not easy for me, and I am stepping out of my comfort zone because I believe in the work I do, and I believe in the power of community to support artists who keep creating even when the financial path feels difficult.” she shared in her campaign.

What happened next proved that South Africans believe in backing our artists!

Over the course of 30 days, friends, family, fellow creatives and complete strangers helped her raise more than her R80,000 goal, eventually reaching 109% of her target!

“I am floored, grateful, and completely gobsmacked that this much generosity exists on the internet!” she shared. “The amount of gratitude and sheer joy that is coursing through my veins is unquantifiable! The 2 words thank you do not seem to cover the depth and breadth of my appreciation. But I’m going to say it anyway, THANK YOU!”

It all happened at once. Tickets booked, tuition fees paid and accommodation sorted!

In January, Roshina shared her first update from London.

“Week 1 of puppetry school is off to a fabulous start! Our class is made up of 16 artists from all over the world all with a love for puppets! I’ve already learned so much and it’s only been 2 days! I can’t wait to see what the future unfolds. The course has a no device policy, which is a great way of staying present and allowing ourselves to truly deep dive. Here’s to more play and exploration!”

The best thing is that Roshina’s experience will feed directly into her work with young artists and the puppetry community back in South Africa.

“This intensive will deepen my skills, expand my international connections, and directly feed back into the work I do in South Africa exploring my own work, teaching, directing, mentoring young artists, and building community through puppetry.”

Sources: Linked above.

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