Cabaret Mechanical Theatre

The Home of Contemporary Automata

We have been entertaining and inspiring visitors & makers with our collection of automata since 1981. Now based in Hastings, UK we have exhibitions all over the world.

Featured Products

Store

A wide range of mechanical delights. From original handmade automata to kits & books to kick start your own automata making journey.
A boy points at Biodiversity by Paul Spooner. An automata of 20 figures floating and rotating in space

Exhibitions

Our collection of contemporary automata can be seen in museums & galleries around the world as well as at our home in Hastings, UK.
A table filled with cardboard boxes containing cam mechanisms. Women and children are constructing and playing with the pieces.

Making

Explore our resources to learn how to make automata or sign up to one of our workshops.

Support Us

We need your help to run our 2026 community engagement projects. As a non profit company all donations go towards our goals to share the magic of automata with our local and global community.

Latest News

An Elephant Thinking of Inventing the Wheel

An Elephant Thinking of Inventing the Wheel

Paul Spooner has just finished 7 of these elephants. The elephant is either re-inventing the wheel, or practising the fifteenth letter of the alphabet. They are made from limewood with…
A Novel Transmission

A Novel Transmission

ROBOTS The marketing arm of P Spooner Stithians, noticing the upswerve in the sales of robots, has created its own Robonics Division. The first models to be produced were in…
Ron Fuller Retrospective

Ron Fuller Retrospective

An exhibition of work from Ron Fuller and Guy Richardson opens at Craftco in Southwold, Suffolk this Saturday. Ron says, “Mine is a special retrospective show one example of every…
Beastly Time

Beastly Time

Simon Tait’s Mews – No.15 You know about Chronophage, the weird and wonderful clock/creature created by John Taylor that has adorned the corner of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, for the…
Ron, the village toymaker

Ron, the village toymaker

Simon Tait’s Mews – No.14 We’ve been to Suffolk to visit the workshop of, first, Tim Hunkin, about whom more news later. But a few miles nearer the border with…
Mexican Chickens

Mexican Chickens

Carlos Zapata has just finished this colourful one off piece. These South American chickens are taking a break from their usual diet of corn, for something more refreshing. Carlos’ ingenious…
Suffolk Punch

Suffolk Punch

Simon Tait’s Mews – No.13 To the Suffolk chapter of the Cabaret club, and a delightful June day with two of the key members, Tim Hunkin and Ron Fuller, makers…
The Clockwork Automataumbrella

The Clockwork Automataumbrella

Keith Newstead and Gonzo artist Ralph Steadman have created this incredible new machine, ‘The Clockwork Automataumbrella’. It forms the centrepiece at the Clockwork and Automata Exhibition (18th June to 22nd…
Our mission is to promote engineering and creativity through workshops, exhibitions and automata kits.

As a Community Interest Company all profits go toward this valuable work.

Cabaret Mechanical Theatre Learning CIC
Company Number: 14598590
© 2026 Cabaret Mechanical Theatre. All rights reserved.
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