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Cutting edge puppet theatre from our fourth artists in residence

The Handspring Puppet Company is always exploring the boundaries of puppet theatre and is considered one of the world’s foremost companies in the genre today. Their production War Horse is currently running at the National Theatre in London to a sold-out audience. Now they are visiting Norway with their production Woyzeck on the Highveld at Sandnes Kulturhus from 14-16 November.

The production, which has toured the world since it opened in 1992, is a collaboration between Handspring and the American artist and filmmaker William Kentridge. – This is the first time I have worked with puppets, and it has been a great experience, Kentridge says. -To see how puppets can portray certain things better than real actors has been nothing short of a revelation.
In the production, the director makes use of real actors, large rod-manipulated puppets as well as animated film. 

Woyzeck on the Highveld is an adaptation of German writer Georg Büchner’s famous play of jealousy, murder and the struggle of an individual against an uncaring society. Büchner’s Woyzek was a German soldier in the 1800s. In this version, Woyzek is a migrant worker in 1956 Johannesburg.

The Handspring Puppet Company is Stavanger2008’s fourth and last artists in residency. Last week the company held a workshop for professional puppeteers in Oslo, which was very well received by the participants. Next week pupils and students from Rogaland will meet with the company’s two founders Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler at a workshop in Sandnes.