Created & Produced by Trigger
- Trigger, the creators of ‘The Big One Hundred’, the major cultural celebrations happening this summer for the centenary of Winnie-The-Pooh in Ashdown Forest, announce full tour dates and programme details.
- Kicking off on 18-19 July in Ashdown Forest, home of the Hundred Acre Wood, audiences are invited to immerse themselves in nature on an ‘Explorer Day’, a series of nature-based events and activities including interactive performances from the giant puppet creature inspired by the endangered species in the Forest.
- Marking 100 years of A.A Milne’s beloved Winnie-the-Pooh stories, the giant puppet and explorer activities will tour to Hailsham Town Centre on 26th July, Sheffield Park and Garden on 1st August, Uckfield’s Weald on the Field on 8th August and Herstmonceux Castle on 22-23rd Please visit www.thebigonehundred.co.uk for further details.
- Tickets will be available for the opening weekend at Ashdown Forest from thebigonehundred.co.uk. Priority booking is available for Wealden residents from 18 May before general public on sale on 26 May. For early access, Wealden residents can sign up to the mailing list: www.thebigonehundred.co.uk.
- As previously announced, Trigger’s creative director Angie Bual is creating the giant puppet creature alongside costume designer Jack Irving (best known for his costume designs for global pop icons including Lady Gaga and Katy Perry) which will lead the celebrations.
- The rest of the creative team includes Olivier Award Winning Theatre Maker Laura Cubitt (Dinosaur World Live, Olivier Award Winner for Best Family Show 2024; The Lion Inside, The Unicorn Theatre, Rose Theatre Kingston & International tour) as puppetry director, and Oliver Hymans (Coven, Kiln Theatre, Overheard in a Tower Block, Little Angel Theatre).
The Big One Hundred
Launching across Saturday 18 July – Sunday 19th July 2026 to mark 100 years of A.A Milne’s beloved Winnie-the-Pooh stories, Ashdown Forest, home of the magical Hundred Acre Wood, are partnering with world-class creatives Trigger, known for bold, boundary-pushing work on a spectacular scale including ‘The Hatchling’ and ‘PoliNations’, to deliver The Big One Hundred’, a series of family friendly cultural events inspiring visitors to connect with this landscape of environmental and cultural significance and help protect it for the next 100 years.
Following the opening weekend on 18-19 July in Ashdown Forest, the puppet and explorer programme of activities will then tour to cultural and heritage sites in Wealden across the school summer holidays. Specific dates and locations include: Hailsham Town Centre on 26th July, Sheffield Park and Garden on 1st August, Uckfield’s Weald on the Field on 8th August and Herstmonceux Castle on 22-23rd August.
Titled ‘Explorer Days’, visitors will be invited to learn more about nature and the forest by becoming explorers and collecting stamps for their explorer packs through embarking on an eclectic programme of nature-based activities including crafts, games and workshops. Along the way, visitors will get the opportunity to spot, feed and interact with the Forest’s newest inhabitant – a giant, mythical puppet creature inspired by the landscape of Ashdown Forest and the special species of animals and plants that live there.
Trigger’s Angie Bual said: “This is a chance for children and adults alike to step into the enchanting landscape where Christopher Robin once played, and to discover more about this extraordinary Forest and its rich, protected wildlife. We’re especially excited to take this project beyond the Ashdown Forest and across the district, bringing the magic Ashdown on tour, so that communities across the district can connect with the natural world right on their doorstep.”
Whilst all of the cultural celebrations are free to attend in all locations, tickets will need to be booked in advance. From Tuesday 26 May at 10am the public booking will open on www.thebigonehundred.co.uk for all locations. Wealden residents will receive priority booking from 18 May. Wealden residents can sign up to receive early access tickets by signing up to The Big One Hundred’s mailing list on www.thebigonehundred.co.uk
Ashdown Forest in East Sussex is a rare heathland landscape – a habitat rarer than a tropical rainforest – and a Site of Special Scientific Interest that is home to some of Europe’s most threatened species. ‘The Big One Hundred’ is a magical new story for Ashdown Forest, where interactive performances, heathland walks and shared encounters will reveal a curious new creature and invite audiences to write the Forest’s next chapter.
The Big One Hundred is proud to be part of the National Year of Reading, aligning with the project’s mission to champion reading as a gateway to creativity and nature connection. Through a programme that blends storytelling, outdoor exploration and imaginative play, the project encourages children and families to engage with reading in a new way, bringing stories to life beyond the page and into the natural world. By weaving together literature, nature and participatory experiences, ‘The Big One Hundred’ supports the National Year of Reading’s wider aims to build confidence, spark curiosity and foster a lifelong love of reading, while creating space for young people to deepen their relationship with the environment.
As previously announced, Creative Director Angie Bual (Trigger) is collaborating with renowned artist and costume designer Jack Irving to create the new puppet costume that will be the central feature of ‘The Big One Hundred’ celebrations. Irving is known for his futuristic, experimental practice that blends fantasy, deep-sea inspiration, and transformative design. His work spans wearable art, immersive installations and public spectacle, and he is best known for his collaborations with global pop icons including Lady Gaga, Doja Cat, Katy Perry, Paris Hilton and the Spice Girls.
Angie Bual is the Creative Director of ‘The Big One Hundred’ and the Creative Director and Joint CEO of Trigger. Trigger are an award-winning team of creatives renowned for producing bold, boundary-pushing work on a spectacular scale. They create larger-than-life experiences that transform public spaces, reimagine landscapes and bring people together in unexpected ways. Recent work includes The Hatchling—a breathtaking, city-scale flying dragon that captivated audiences across the UK (Plymouth, Wakefield, Queens Platinum Jubilee) and PoliNations, a vast immersive garden celebrating global biodiversity (Unboxed/Birmingham 2022/Glastonbury). Trigger continue to challenge convention with epic, imaginative creations that redefine what live experiences can be.
The giant puppet creature will be operated by 8-10 people simultaneously, an ambitious and rarely attempted approach that pushes the boundaries of live performance, costume and puppetry. Designed to personify Ashdown Forest and its unique landscape and protected species, Irving’s design and Angie’s bold vision for ‘The Big One Hundred’ will come together to create this living, moving artwork.
The creative team will also include Olivier Award Winning Theatre Maker Laura Cubitt. She Co-directed Dinosaur World Live (Olivier Award Winner for Best Family Show 2024). Most recently she was the movement director for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RSC/Unicorn); Puppetry Director for The Boy who Harnessed the Wind (RSC); Puppetry Consultant for Into the Woods (Bridge Theatre) as puppetry director for the project. Alongside Laura, Trigger will work with Oliver Hymans (Coven, Kiln Theatre, Overheard in a Tower Block, Little Angel Theatre), the current Associate Director at Little Angel Theatre, as puppetry consultant on the project.
Six New Walks
As previously announced, in addition to the giant new inhabitant, six new themed walks will also be launched this summer, inviting audiences to explore more of the incredible landscape of Ashdown Forest. The walks will be themed around different special species including the Dartford Warbler, the Nightjar, the Tiger Beetle, the Adder, the Dormouse and the Silver Studded Blue Butterfly.
These new walks and performances draw inspiration from the landscape that has inspired writers for generations from Milne to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to poet Fiona Sampson and encourage young people and families to connect with the Forest and shine a light on the urgent need to protect this magnificent landscape. 100 years ago, the real Christopher Robin played in Ashdown Forest and gained a deep, genuine connection with the landscape, inspiring him to advocate for its conservation in later life. These site-specific cultural projects seek to reconnect young people with the wonder of the natural world, and in turn inspire the next generation of conservationists.
More information about ‘The Big One Hundred’ is available here: www.thebigonehundred.co.uk
