14 June 2010

Puppetry and the World Cup.. at last!

How on earth could the Soccer World Cup relate to African puppetry? In the past few days, the world has become obsessed with soccer. I am in Israel this week, on the last leg of our European Workshop Tour for 2010, before returning to Australia and I was waiting to find a puppetry group who would relate to the major events taking place right now in South Africa!
Finally the email came through from South African photographer Gisele Wulfsohn and the article was there!  The Giant Match is a bigger-than-life show played outdoor by 28 four-metre high puppets and dozens of masks and objects complete with storytellers and musicians.

Involving over 100 South African actors, musicians, dancers, puppeteers, visual artists and craftsmen from various communities around Johannesburg, as well as international artists from France, Burkina Faso, Italy and Chile, this new and unique show was initiated in the context of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.  It's a
Franco-South-African project presented by the Gauteng Provincial Government, and the French Institute of South Africa together with the group 'Les Grandes Personnes' from Burkina Faso.

You can watch a clip of their work here!

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