Peri Efe The influence of Molière, whose plays were translated and performed in different languages spoken in the Ottoman Empire, extends to shadow theatre. The focus of this article is on the plays inspired by Molière’s Le Médecin malgré lui (The Doctor in Spite of Himself), which are included in the karagöz repertoire under the title Hekimlik (Doctor) and in the karagiozis repertoire under the title Ο Καραγκιόζης γιατρός (Karagiozis Doctor). Despite the existence of other Molière-inspired shadow theatre plays being documented, Le Médecin malgré lui is the sole common play in the repertoires of karagöz and karagiozis. This article …
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FOUNDERS OF THE FIELD: Jane Taylor
Lawrence Switzky This article surveys the art and thought of Jane Taylor, one of the most adventurous and virtuosic minds in the study and creation of puppetry. The first section considers Jane’s scripts for puppets and actors: Ubu and the Truth Commission (1996) and Zeno at 4am/Zeno Confessions of Zeno (2002), both collaborations with Handspring Puppet Company and William Kentridge, as well as After Cardenio (2011) and PAN: A Performance Lecture (2018/19). The second section turns to Jane’s wide-ranging theoretical writing on puppetry, particularly her investigations of how puppetry manifests the formation of subjectivity, acts of projection and recognition, the multiplicity of agency and identity, and the body …
From the Editor
This issue of Puppetry International Research opens with a continuation of our Founders of the Field series. Lawrence Switzky’s article on Jane Taylor outlines the influential work of an energetic scholar, teacher, and playwright, who passed away all too prematurely in September of 2023. Switzky, a longtime friend and colleague of Taylor’s, introduces us to the depth and breadth of her work and resurrects her vibrant presence in his remembrances of her approach to art, scholarship, and life. His bibliography offers readers further paths for connecting with Taylor’s ideas. Special thanks go to Kathy Foley, who stepped in as Guest …
BOOK REVIEW: Reading the Puppet Stage: Reflections on the Dramaturgy of Performing Objects
Reading the Puppet Stage: Reflections on the Dramaturgy of Performing Objects. By Claudia Orenstein. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2024. 188 pp.27 B/W Illustrations. Hardcover $170.00, Paperback $42.95. In 2011, Handspring Puppet Company began performing I Love You When You’re Breathing, a puppet’s address to critics about the basics of a subtle, complex art. As the protagonist, Puppet, says at the beginning of that performance, “You might know plenty about theatre-theatre, but now you’ve come to hear me talk about what’s different in puppet theatre.” Claudia Orenstein’s Reading the Puppet Stage is likewise a book about the foundations of puppet …
PERFORMANCE REVIEW: Song of the North
Song of the North. Created and directed by Hamid Rahmanian. Music by Ramin Torkian, featuring vocalist Azam Ali. OZ Theatre, Nashville, Tennessee, 20 April, 2024. As battle sounds fill the OZ Theatre in Nashville, shadowy figures of soldiers and weapons materialize on a large screen, shrouded in the fog of war. This dramatic opening sets the stage for Hamid Rahmanian’s innovative shadow puppet theatre production, Song of the North, inspired by Ferdowsi’s tenth-century Persian epic, Shahnameh (Book of Kings)[1]. Song of the North is part of the KINGORAMA project, founded by Hamid Rahmanian and Melissa Hibbard, which produces cultural products …
PERFORMANCE REVIEW: HUMAN
HUMAN. Written and directed by Nehprii Amenii. Music composed by Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby with sound design by Joo Wan Park. Choreography by Amparo “Chigui” Santiago, and lighting, projections, and scenic design by Marie Yokoyama. Puppet design and building by Dan Jones and Nehprii Amenii. A Puppetry NOW featured performance at the Center for Puppetry Arts, Atlanta, Georgia, January 17-28, 2024. Nehprii Amenii’s puppet theatre piece, HUMAN, considers a world where human beings have faded into extinction. Detached from the goodness of their hearts, the once-prosperous human race destroyed itself, and all that remains on Earth are the sea …
REPORT: A Journey Through Puppetry in Africa
Fedelis Kyalo In “A Journey Through Puppetry in Africa,” Fedelis Kyalo highlights the UNIMA Africa Commission’s efforts to promote puppetry as a cultural art form. The article discusses the “Tomorrow’s Puppets in Africa” training program and the “Pro-Vocation: Roots and Wings” conference in Cape Town, titled “An International Exchange on Puppetry Arts in Africa.” These events celebrated and explored African puppetry’s rich traditions and new ideas. They included three training courses, international meetings, a puppet festival, and an inter-African seminar, promoting collaboration and growth in puppetry across Africa. The attendees engaged in meaningful discussions and developed a ten-year plan to …
REFLECTION: The Topic of the Holocaust and Puppetry in the Ukrainian Context: Discussion of Kaddish Memorial Prayer, February 2023
This short reflection explores the theme of the Jewish Holocaust in puppet theatre. The puppet theatre in Odesa recently (2023) has presented the Jewish Holocaust and this article looks at a recent production, titled Kaddish Memorial Prayer, performed in Odesa during the war in Ukraine in 2023. This article looks at the appearance of this performance as an unusual choice because of the trauma in the narrative in a production within the context of a war zone. Considering the events of the Holocaust in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine could seem emotionally inappropriate given the people attending these …
Ukrainian Resistance Through the Nativity Puppet Theatre Vertep: Exposure of Russian Aggression in the Images of Moskal and Herod
Tetiana Zinovieva This article delves into the historical and cultural significance of vertep, a traditional Ukrainian portable Christmas puppet theatre, specifically focusing on a character known as Moskal. Vertep, with its multi-tiered structure, showcases both sacred and profane characters, embodying societal and cultural archetypes and stereotypes. Representing a national-ethnic identity, Moskal has a dynamic, often shifting, role within the performance, determined by contextual associations. The following discussion traces the evolution of the Moskal character in traditional Nativity plays, highlighting changing perceptions in light of modern events in Ukraine, particularly the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war since 2014. The focus of the research is on …
Note from the Editors: Puppetry and War – Contemporary Perspectives from Ukraine
Matt Smith and Nataliia Borodina The reports, reviews, and articles in this edition of PIR discussing the Ukraine are the results of a collaboration between University of Portsmouth and Odesa[1] Polytechnic. The background to this collaboration was the War in the Ukraine, which is ongoing at the time of writing. Initially, the seed was sown by Polish puppet authority Kamil Kopania during an online networking event in 2022, when he challenged the international community to respond to the war. One clear finding from the collaboration is that puppetry is alive, resilient, and vital to the culture of Ukrainian people. As a young nation …
