Handspring Puppet Company
Encyclopedia
The Handspring Puppet Company is a puppetry
performance and design company established in 1981 by Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones, situated in Cape Town
, South Africa
. Thys Stander is the company's chief puppet maker.
in Cape Town. Both openly gay, they began dating soon after. At first, they designed puppets for children-targeted
productions, which Jones initially disliked. Kohler "introduced him [Jones] to the west Africa
n tradition of puppetry for adults," working with Malcolm Purkey and Barney Simon
, among others.
, France
.
In 1997, they worked with William Kentridge
on Ubu and the Truth Commission
. It premiered in Johannesburg
, South Africa
, on 26 May 1997. Kentridge had been working for some years with the Handspring Puppet Company in Johannesburg, most notably on Woyzeck on the Highveld in 1993 and Faustus in Africa in 1996. The latter, according to Kentridge, was "a huge undertaking", after which he and the company were on the look-out merely for something small to "do and survive". Starting on 18 September 1998, Ubu and the Truth Commission played at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
, for four performances.
Yaya Coulibaly
's play Tall Horse (2006) toured Africa
under the supervision and direction of the company. On 1 March 2011, Kohler and Jones demonstrated a hyena
puppet used in Faustus in Africa (1995) at the TED 2011
event in Long Beach
, California
.
The Handspring Puppet Company achieved critical acclaim when War Horse
premiered in South Bank, London, on 17 October 2007. For this show, Kohler and Jones worked with directors Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris and choreographer Toby Sedgwick
to construct and design life-sized horse puppets, controlled by three actors – two to operate the legs and one to control the head and neck, with all three actors providing a variety of sound effects. The company won an Olivier Award, Evening Standard Theatre Award and London Critics' Circle Theatre Award. The show transferred to the West End
on 28 March 2009, and on 15 March 2011, the show premiered on Broadway
at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
.
The company collaborated with Neil Bartlett
on Or You Could Kiss Me
, which opened at the National Theatre
in London on 5 October 2010, following previews from 28 September. The show has been described as "an intimate history of two very private lives, lived in extraordinary times." It closed on 18 November 2010.
For the Broadway production of War Horse
, the company has received an Outer Critics Circle Special Achievement Award
for "Puppet Design, Fabrication and Direction for War Horse", and they are also a recipient of the 2011 Special Tony Award
.
Puppetry
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects...
performance and design company established in 1981 by Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones, situated in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Thys Stander is the company's chief puppet maker.
History
Jones and Kohler met at the Michaelis School of Fine ArtMichaelis School of Fine Art
Michaelis School of Fine Art was founded in 1925, and is the Fine Arts department of the University of Cape Town, also housing the Michaelis Collection named for Sir Max Michaelis who in 1920 endowed the chair of Fine Art at the University. It is located at 31-37 Orange Street in Cape Town on...
in Cape Town. Both openly gay, they began dating soon after. At first, they designed puppets for children-targeted
Target audience
In marketing and advertising, a target audience, is a specific group of people within the target market at which the marketing message is aimed .....
productions, which Jones initially disliked. Kohler "introduced him [Jones] to the west Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n tradition of puppetry for adults," working with Malcolm Purkey and Barney Simon
Barney Simon
Barney Simon was a South African writer, playwright and director.- Early life :The son of working-class Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, Simon discovered a love of theatre while working under director Joan Littlewood in London in the 1950s...
, among others.
Productions and exhibitions
1987 saw their exhibition of "Unmasking the Puppet" at UNISA. Prior to that, Esther van Ryswyk directed their puppets in a play called Episodes of an Easter Rising (1985), based on David Lyttons's radio special of the same name. It premiered in Charleville-MézièresCharleville-Mézières
Charleville-Mézières is a commune in northern France, capital of the Ardennes department in the Champagne-Ardenne region. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the Meuse River.-History:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
In 1997, they worked with William Kentridge
William Kentridge
William Kentridge is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings, and animated films. These are constructed by filming a drawing, making erasures and changes, and filming it again. He continues this process meticulously, giving each change to the drawing a quarter of a second to two...
on Ubu and the Truth Commission
Ubu and the Truth Commission
Ubu and the Truth Commission is a South African play by Jane Taylor first performed under the directorship of William Kentridge at The Laboratory in Johannesburg's Market Theatre on May 26, 1997....
. It premiered in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, on 26 May 1997. Kentridge had been working for some years with the Handspring Puppet Company in Johannesburg, most notably on Woyzeck on the Highveld in 1993 and Faustus in Africa in 1996. The latter, according to Kentridge, was "a huge undertaking", after which he and the company were on the look-out merely for something small to "do and survive". Starting on 18 September 1998, Ubu and the Truth Commission played at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, for four performances.
Yaya Coulibaly
Yaya Coulibaly
Yaya Coulibaly comes from an ancient family of puppeteers with roots in the Bamana kingdom of Segou in Mali. He began his initiation into the magical world of puppet and masquerade figures at the age of ten as an apprentice to his father. Later he studied art at the Bamako National Institute of the...
's play Tall Horse (2006) toured Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
under the supervision and direction of the company. On 1 March 2011, Kohler and Jones demonstrated a hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
puppet used in Faustus in Africa (1995) at the TED 2011
TED (conference)
TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
event in Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
The Handspring Puppet Company achieved critical acclaim when War Horse
War Horse (play)
War Horse is a play based on the book of the same name by acclaimed children's writer Michael Morpurgo, adapted for stage by Nick Stafford. Originally Morpurgo thought "they must be mad" to try to make a play from his best-selling 1982 novel. He was proved wrong by the play's instant success...
premiered in South Bank, London, on 17 October 2007. For this show, Kohler and Jones worked with directors Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris and choreographer Toby Sedgwick
Toby Sedgwick
Toby Sedgwick is a British movement director, actor, and theatre choreographer. He achieved critical acclaim for providing "horse choreography" for War Horse, currently playing at West End's New London Theatre and Broadway's Vivian Beaumont Theatre...
to construct and design life-sized horse puppets, controlled by three actors – two to operate the legs and one to control the head and neck, with all three actors providing a variety of sound effects. The company won an Olivier Award, Evening Standard Theatre Award and London Critics' Circle Theatre Award. The show transferred to the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
on 28 March 2009, and on 15 March 2011, the show premiered on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a theatre located in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The structure was designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen, and Jo Mielziner was responsible for the design of the stage and interior.The Vivian...
.
The company collaborated with Neil Bartlett
Neil Bartlett (playwright)
Neil Vivian Bartlett, OBE, is an award-winning British director, performer, translator, and writer. He is one of the founding members of Gloria, a production company established in 1988 to produce his work along with that of Nicolas Bloomfield, Leah Hausman and Simon Mellor...
on Or You Could Kiss Me
Or You Could Kiss Me
Or You Could Kiss Me is a play by Neil Bartlett and Handspring Puppet Company. It received its world première at the National Theatre's Cottesloe venue on 5 October 2010 following previews from 28 September 2010, and played a limited season until 18 November 2010.-Cast:* Adjoa Andoh* Finn Caldwell*...
, which opened at the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in London on 5 October 2010, following previews from 28 September. The show has been described as "an intimate history of two very private lives, lived in extraordinary times." It closed on 18 November 2010.
For the Broadway production of War Horse
War Horse (play)
War Horse is a play based on the book of the same name by acclaimed children's writer Michael Morpurgo, adapted for stage by Nick Stafford. Originally Morpurgo thought "they must be mad" to try to make a play from his best-selling 1982 novel. He was proved wrong by the play's instant success...
, the company has received an Outer Critics Circle Special Achievement Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
for "Puppet Design, Fabrication and Direction for War Horse", and they are also a recipient of the 2011 Special Tony Award
Special Tony Award
The Special Tony Award category includes the Lifetime Achievement Award and Special Tony Award. These are non-competitive awards, and the titles have changed over the years...
.