As Improbable as Mr Punch...

Backstage last night at the Sidney Meyer Music Bowl in Melbourne, where we were performing our Australian Survival Day production, I was chatting to a traditional Commedia del Arte 'Arlequino' about the disappearance of Punch and Judy from our lives and today I discover one of the British theatre heroes of our time, Julian Crouch, is giving a new voice to the villainous archetype.

Think of Mr Punch and you tend to conjure up a vision of traditional seaside entertainment and children’s birthday parties. Comedy crocodiles and strings of felt sausages project a rather quaint – some might say cute – picture-postcard image on the mind’s eye. However, that would be to ignore the large thwacking stick with which Punch wallops his wife and antagonises the local constabulary. In fact, the figure of Mr Punch, who celebrates his 350th anniversary in Covent Garden, London in May, has a far darker side that is all too easily forgotten.

‘I don’t find him cute at all,’ says Crouch, one of the artistic directors of Improbable Theatre, whose latest theatre piece for the company, The Devil and Mister Punch, comes to the Barbican Centre’s Pit Theatre. ‘He tends to be pretty violent, actually. I own a couple of Punch masks and when you put them on, you start to feel quite aggressive.’

Witness a tragic comedy of manslaughter and love. It's Punch and Judy but as presented by Messrs Harvey and Hovey, a pair of broken vaudevillians who are now in the gutter and have been reduced to presenting a puppet show that goes wildly off-course.

Featuring a lush score of bass fiddle, gin parlour piano, metronome and bells, this dark but hilarious show is performed on a gloriously theatrical wood-panelled set. Inside this shadowy world live a steaming crocodile, a parade of piggies, the devil and many other extraordinary characters. 

Crouch is fascinated by the ‘nostalgia of theatre’. By returning to an old- fashioned theme, The Devil and Mister Punch bucks the trend of contemporary puppetry, much of which currently aims to break ties with its childish, simplistic connotations. ‘The glove puppet is perceived as probably the lowliest of all theatrical forms. It’s seen as a gutter art, but it can totally surprise you. It comes in under the radar.

It is something that says: “Look, I’m just a glove puppet. Nothing I say is important.” But of course, it absolutely is. It may be the gutter, but you can see the moon reflected in the water. There’s something heavenly about the gutter.’

Equally, there’s something adult about this staple figure of childhood entertainment. Mr Punch is not merely a kid’s plaything – as his encounter with the devil and Julian Crouch is bound to show.

Improbable’s innovative work ranges from small scale theatre, such as Panic at the Barbican in 2009, to large opera productions, including Philip Glass’s Satyagraha, co-produced with ENO and a sell-out hit in London and at The Metropolitan Opera, New York.  Don't miss The Devil and Mister Punch which opens at The Barbican Theatre on 2nd February 2012.

Jim Henson on 'Puppetry' from 1968

In 1968,  Jim Henson made a wonderful documentary on 'Puppetry', which was presented by himself, together with The Muppets or early version of these characters, which would go to to achieve international stardom. If you haven't seen these, they are well worth a watch and are posted on You Tube in seven parts. Above is Part One, the others are posted here: Part Two; Part Three; Part Four; Part Five; Part Six and Part Seven. Enjoy!

War Horse opening in Toronto

Following it's great success on the stage in London and New York, the Handspring hit production of War Horse opens in only two weeks, with an all Canadian cast, at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. War Horse will also be opening in Australia and Japan in the foreseeable future. The Handspring Puppet Company was the recipient of a 2011 Special Tony Award for their puppetry achievement in War Horse. It certainly is a must-see for any theatre enthusiasts and comes highly recommended.

Queen honours puppet master Lyndie Wright

Happy New Year to all of you!
South African-born puppeteer, Lyndie Wright, co-founder of Little Angel Theatre in London has been awarded a MBE in The Queen's New Years Honours List. It has been a very special year for Lyndie and the Little Angel. They recently hosted their fiftieth anniversary and the second Suspense Festival, an international festival of puppetry in London. Now the MBE adds the cherry on the top for Lyndie, the Little Angel and world puppetry. We wish them many more years of success in the wonderful work they do. May we all get to share in the light, once again, of puppetry making it into the mainstream of world culture.  You may also recall my recent post about the Little Angel here?
I trust that 2012 will be an even greater year for world puppetry!

Happy Birthday Richard Bradshaw

A serious looking 'Santa' alias Richard Bradshaw came for breakfast this morning with his charming wife Margaret, just in time to celebrate his seventy-third birthday in Sydney.
For those who don't know Richard, he is Australia's Master of the shadow puppet and our walking encyclopedia of world puppetry.

Jim Henson made a documentary of Richard's work back in 1985. You can watch an extract of that here! In 1986, Richard received the Order of Australia, an honour bestowed to him for his great service to Australia through puppetry, which he is still engaged in full-time. I believe Richard is best known for 'The Marionette Theatre of Australia'.  Richard became it's artistic director in 1976 until 1983. You can also watch Richard's most recognised musical piece 'Super Kangeroo' here.
 
On behalf Puppetry News, I'd like to wish Richard a wonderful birthday for today and an inspiring year ahead for 2012.

Is it a Puppet or a Dog?

It's that time of year again. The silly season - A time to have a laugh and discuss where puppetry begins and dog training ends. Check out the film clip here and decide for yourself. Enjoy! (Thanks to Dina in Chicago)

Gumboots for Xmas?

In the spirit of Xmas, South African 'puppet' politician Helen Zille was invited onto ZA News to distribute 'safety items' to both Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu, not that they really going to need them this Christmas. But it gives me a chance to wish you all a very merry & safe holiday season, wherever you may be hiding out! More stuff to come.. watch this space..

Yet another Puppet for President..

Why on earth the United States would need another presidential candidate is anyone's guess. But it looks like there is another rather 'conservative' nominee for the top job in the shape of an illogical Marvin E. Quasniki. What his background is, nobody really seems to know, but he is apparently up there prepared to fight Obama. You can also see him being interviewed recently on CNN here!

The Puppet Barge sails on..

 

I consider living life on a barge pretty unusual, but a puppet theatre on a barge is something quite extraordinary. Movingstage Marionettes were established by South African born, Gren Middleton and his British partner, Juliet Rogers, who both used to work at The Little Angel Theatre. I first met them back in 1979 at my first International Puppet Festival in London, where we shared a performance venue. That was the same year they established the Puppet Barge. We recently reconnected at the Suspense Puppet Festival in London, where they were still performing. The Guardian featured a fascinating article and audio interview with the youngest member of the Middleton family, Stan. You can listen to the interview and watch images from the barge theatre here!
As I searched the You Tube memory banks, I came across some amaising memories of the Middletons and their work. Take a look here and here!

Creativity 101 in Education?

I realise that by now you must all have been exposed to this brilliant lecture by education guru, Sir Ken Robinson, on the future of our standardised educational systems worldwide.  I often refer to Sir Ken in my lectures on the importance of 'creativity' in schools. What constantly bamboozles me is that despite all the empirical evidence from science and research, our education system is constantly being standardised and nationalised, hence the imposition of our 'NEW' National Curriculum in Australia.
Is a one-size fits all strategy really benefiting our society today? Is our information revolution making or breaking our children's education? As creative collective which we belong to, do you believe that an 'academic' approach should outweigh a creative and free-thinking one? You decide and let me know your thoughts!