puppetry

War Horse

 

After hearing Adrian Kohler talking about Handspring Puppet Company‘s War Horse at UNIMA 2008 in Perth, I made a special point of seeing it in London later that year when I was travelling. It was remarkable and wonderful.

Since then War Horse has been much celebrated, and has played to increasing audiences, moving from the National Theatre to the West End, and then to Broadway. Most recently it has been staged in Toronto, and, excitingly, it will be in Melbourne’s Arts Centre in December this year.

I think the TED talk above is the best demonstration of the puppets I’ve seen outside the theatre. Despite their impressionistic construction with movement, breath and emotional gestures they become breathtakingly alive. (Eric Hart linked to this great infographic by Trish McAlaster on how the puppets work.)

 

Horsepower: the War Horse puppets and puppeteers infographic by Trish Mcalaster / The Globe and Mail

 

The horse puppets get most of the interest, which is natural, but there’s also a lovely puppet goose, and an enormous tank that comes on stage, rolling up over a barricade, and rearing over the audience. I really don’t know how they did that! And I also enjoyed the music and loved the minimalist set, essentially a suggested torn piece of paper above the back of the stage, on which simple animations were projected from time to time.

The attitude towards war in the play is unusual, slipping past taking sides, who is in the right or wrong and strategy, and emphasising rather how the horses’ fates are completely subject to the capricious needs and circumstances of humans.

By now War Horse has been made into the inevitable Spielberg movie, which I somehow don’t feel any particular need to see. (For fun take a look at Lisa Hanawalt’s illustrated review). I’m inclined to think that I would agree with Emily Landau’s article Why war Horse’s puppets win by flaunting their artificiality. Apparently an animatronic horse was used for a few seconds for humane reasons in one scene in the movie. I caught a glimpse of this on YouTube a few weeks ago but the video has since been withdrawn.

Lastly, I love the illustration of the Handspring puppets by Byron Eggenschwiler accompanying Landau’s article.

Latest Australian Puppeteer Mag is out

Australian Puppeteer Magazine, Issue 41, Feb 2011

 

I received my copy of the latest Australian Puppeteer Magazine a couple of days ago. It’s a good looking production at the moment under the new editorship of Robert Reid. In this edition there are features on Terrapin Theatre Company‘s and Sydney Puppet Theatre‘s history and plans, and Tim Denton‘s reflections on his Bread and Puppet experience two years on. Also, interviews with Duda Paiva, Heath McIvor, and Richard Hart (the last being about the upcoming Tarrengower Puppetfest, a dialogue via Kay Yasugi about marionette puppetry in the classroom, and various reviews.

The magazine is available twice a year to members of UNIMA Australia. Don’t forget that you can also get news of the puppetry arts in Australia via the free monthly Oz Puppetry Email Newsletter.

Amit Drori’s miniature mechanical elephants

I’ve been entranced by Royal de Luxe‘s and La Machine‘s huge mechanical elephants, but this evening I came across Israeli Amit Drori‘s enchanting small mechanical elephants, made for his show Savanna. The elephants are computerised robots with complex mechanisms and live motion control. As well as the birds and turtle in this video, in another is a beautiful buck.

New-ish La Machine creatures in Nantes

Since going to La Machine in Nantes in 2008 I like to see what new sea creatures are being made in the workshop there. This TV news video shows the sea monster, a shell, a nautilus, a school of flying fish, another fish ship and a new kind of fish in action. I’m not sure where this amazing fish and turtle fit in , but they are cool!

Previously: Riding the giant elephant

Hutch

 

The show I would be most curious to see at the Tarrengower  Puppetfest in March (sadly I’m not going) is Hutch by Rachael Wenona Guy, which will take place in a disused gold mining tunnel known as Carman’s Tunnel. In a recent post, Rachael describes it as ‘a passion play involving a Mother, a giant rabbit and the rituals of nurturing an infant’ with an insatiable appetite. It looks creepy, and I’m sure that side of it will be enhanced by being seen in a claustrophobic  shadowy ‘warren’.

Screaming Object (Objeto Gritante)

This is a sample of DudaPaiva Company’s production Screaming Object,  ‘an absolutely unusual work of abstract dance and puppetry’ by Maurício Oliveira and Duda Paiva. I find it mesmerising, disturbing, and rather wonderful.

Following up on Highly Strung

A few months ago I posted about the giant aerial puppet, Phoebe Sparkles, made by David Jones and friends for the show Highly Strung, which was performed from silos at the Nati Frinj (Natimuk Fringe Festival). Dave has followed up with this great video of sequences edited together from rehearsals and the performance. The animations really add another dimension, and as he comments, it’s amazing to see the puppeteers in action.

Toothless takes flight – how do they do that?!

I’m intrigued by this footage of the dragon Toothless taking flight for the first time at Melbourne’s Creature Technology Company! Toothless stars in DreamWorks and Global Creatures’ new arena spectacular How to Train Your Dragon Live which premieres in Melbourne on 2 March, then tours Sydney, Brisbane, and Aukland. Check out their new TV commercial, various other videos and their FaceBook page .

Previously: How to Train Your Dragon Live

Amiina’s soundscapes for Lotte Reiniger’s animations


I was amazed when I first learnt about Lotte Reiniger a few years ago and saw this video of how she made her stop motion shadow puppetry films. The intricacy and deftness with which she plans, cuts and arranges the silhouettes, and the matter-of-factness in how she describes the process is quite breathtaking.

The Icelandic band Amiina play beautiful new musical soundscapes for three of Reiniger’s animated fairly tales in their live show Animagica, which has been touring Australia recently. Their instruments include violin, glassophone, musical saw and water-filled glasses. Below is a sampler of the performance, but you can also see more-or-less complete filmed performances of Aladdin and the Magic LampCinderella and Sleeping Beauty at YouTube.