Here were these titans of the art world and they were so attentive even though their workshop was in full tilt. When we met them at their house in Kalk Bay, Basil and Adrian were incredibly generous-they served us cake, they gave us a tour, they hunted down a copy of a DVD.
Their art is incredibly intricate and detailed yet ceaselessly playful: the construction of the faces in their puppets is so multifaceted that they can suggest an endless variety of moods depending on which way the puppet is turned. I really got to know Basil and Adrian's work through the Mellon-funded JHI South-North project with the University of the Western Cape, when Veronika Ambros and I were tapped to run the puppetry quadrant on the University of Toronto side. Several of Basil's essays are foundational to the contemporary theory and practice of puppetry, particularly the creation of life through breath and witnessing, and I'd read and admired them for years. And I knew about the miracles they'd achieved performing the animal through puppetry in War Horse. I also tried to beg my way into a revival of their staging of Monteverdi's opera Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in New York City many years ago but it was sold out. I'd seen Ubu and the Truth Commission when it played at the Berkeley Street Theatre in Toronto and I'd also seen Woyzeck on the Highveld on video.
LOGOS PUPPETRY ARTS INSTITUTE PROFESSIONAL
What drew you to the work of Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler of Handspring Puppet Company? What has been your professional relationship with them? You're always working with a puppet as much as through it. There's a really intoxicating blend of power in operating a puppet and a feeling of being beholden to the object, of needing to respect its capabilities and lightness or heft. There was a puppet lending library in Boston and I used to take out all sorts of puppets to see how they were constructed, how they were articulated, how you could operate them, what you could make them do. The sheer tonal variation in their puppetry was also astounding: they could be whimsical, they could be terrifying, they could be holy. I was dazzled by the scale, the combination of modest materials (there was a lot of cardboard) and tremendous ambition (they took on human rights, exploitative labour, American political elections, drone-era warfare). Bread and Puppet Theatre, who specialize in colossal political puppets, used to tour to Boston every year. I think I first started taking the puppetry arts seriously when I went to graduate school at Harvard. I used to make rudimentary glove puppets as a child. I nearly wrote my dissertation on modernist puppetry but then I backed off, foolishly, when I encountered a lot of concerned looks (now I know that's exactly when you should plow ahead -in my 20s I didn't have that courage). From his childhood experiments with rudimentary glove puppets to his profound encounters with visionary puppetry artists Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler of Handspring Puppet Company, Switzky offers his perspective on the allure of puppetry and its impact on the world of theatre and performance art.Ĭan you tell us a little about your background, including your experience working with puppets and how you first became interested in incorporating them into your work? Lawrence Switzky (UTM English and Drama) shares his background, experiences, and the origins of his interest in puppets. Puppetry has captivated audiences for centuries. The discussion will be moderated by David Rokeby and the speakers introduced by Dean Melanie Woodin. On Wednesday, June 7 at 10:00am in the Innis Town Hall, the JHI is delighted to present a panel discussion with Basil Jones, Adrian Kohler and Professor Lawrence Switzky (UTM English and Drama) that will provide a scholarly look at Handspring Puppet Company’s development and effects.
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