Thank you for visiting! Located in the States since 1990 she has performed for schools, libraries, museums, local charities, and private venues.
Originally from South Africa, I'm a retired 1st -grade teacher who's been writing and performing puppet shows for children of all ages for more than 30 years. Elizabeth Norval, a native of South Africa, has been entertaining and educating in a magical manner with her puppets in Africa and the United States since the early seventies. Her puppet making workshops are very well received and her mission statement is to "educate through fun and audience engagement!"
~Interviewed by D.V.DaPontes
11/06/2021
Elizabeth Norval and the Zambezi Puppets will be performing a puppet show for children at 1:00 p.m.
Proceeds benefit the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.
Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/187922891427?aff=efbneb
I will be performing at the SnowCampCAN Americana Roots Music and Community Festival at 2705 Quakenbush Road, Snow Camp NC. Gates open at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 13, 2021.
01/29/2020
Elizabeth performs as a puppeteer in an absolutely enchanting manner. Her hand crafted puppets delight and surprise bringing well known fairytales to life. Interactive scripts engage the children and teach them with joy and spontaneity.
Elsa Mondou
Volunteer at the Salvation Army- the Center for Hope
Homeschool Explorers, a secular homeschool group in Raleigh, had the pleasure of being educated and entertained by Elizabeth Norval and her Zambezi Puppets this fall. Children and adults alike were fascinated by her personal stories and authentic African artifacts. Her puppet show, “Munyaradzi Goes to School in Zimbabwe,” gave us a glimpse into another culture, while delivering the positive message of striving to be a reconciliator; an important lesson for all of us. Elizabeth’s wealth of knowledge about South Africa and Zimbabwe, combined with her rich storytelling and beautifully crafted puppets, kept even the youngest in our group captivated for well over an hour - an impressive feat! The kids were even interested in the workings of her theater, asking about everything from how to manipulate multiple puppets to how to raise the curtain, and were delighted to be given a peek behind the scenes to where the magic happens! We couldn’t be happier with our experience!
Dana Kreykes
Home School parent
"Elizabeth performs as a puppeteer in an absolutely enchanting manner. Her hand crafted puppets delight and surprise, bringing well known fairytales to life. Interactive scripts engage the children and teach them with joy and spontaneity."
Elsa Mondou wrote this review after she saw the Zambezi Puppet show, Little Red Riding Hood, which l performed at the Judy D. Zelnak Center of Hope on October 15, 2019.
09/23/2019
Peter Rabbit will be appearing in a birthday show on Saturday.
08/19/2019
The children at Cary Towne KinderCare were very engaged with my presentation. They loved the puppet show.
08/04/2019
I used a hat as a stage to perform an excerpt from "Munyaradzi Goes To School in Zimbabwe" at the Puppeteers of America International Festival.
08/04/2019
Birthday party show for a six year old on August 4- was a lot of fun!
06/24/2019
The story of “Munyaradzi Goes to School in Zimbabwe” never ceases to delight audiences both young and old. A sweet tale, it is about two rural Zimbabwean children, the adults who love them, and a cranky and dangerous ostrich.
Today, Zambezi Puppets is delighted to perform (by kind invitation) for folks attending the adult day program of the Ruth Sheets Adult Care Center (Edenton Street United Methodist Church) here in Raleigh, N.C., at 3:30 PM!
| Monday | 8am - 8pm |
| Tuesday | 8am - 8pm |
| Wednesday | 8am - 8pm |
| Thursday | 8am - 8pm |
| Friday | 8am - 8pm |
| Saturday | 8am - 8pm |
| Sunday | 8am - 8pm |