The Art of Puppetry

Puppet theatre is a very old form of expression. It is found throughout the world, and each culture has developed its own specific style. Today, in the West, puppetry is often associated with children. While it is true that puppetry is a form of theatre which enchants children, we will also see that it can take many different forms, several of which are aimed at adults.

Puppetry is a fascinating medium which often combines several forms of art, including sculpture, painting, design, writing, acting and music. As for the puppets themselves, a wide variety of types exists. These are most commonly classed according to their methods of manipulation — the means used by the puppeteer to make the puppet move. For example, there are puppets which are slipped over the hand, marionettes manipulated with strings, shadow theatre in which characters glide behind a backlit screen, and many others. You can find the principal types of puppets listed in the glossary.

The repertoire — meaning the collections of stories which are performed — the types of puppets, and the audiences to which the performances are addressed, all help to determine the style of puppetry. As we travel through several parts of the world, you will become familiar with certain forms of puppet theatre which are recognized everywhere, as well as different types of puppets. You will also see that, throughout the world, today's puppeteers are being enriched by puppetry's many traditions — a form of cultural exchange which is inspiring new forms of theatre, new materials and new techniques.

The stories which are performed are largely drawn from two Hindu mythological epics: the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. In fact, these two important literary works from India provide the basis for the repertoire of several forms of puppetry throughout Asia.

Noble princes and princesses, gods and goddesses, demons and wise clowns people the many episodes performed from the epics, which combine daring battles, love poems, philosophical lessons and buffoonery, in addition to current events, local references, jokes and satire. The puppeteer, called a dalang in Indonesia, is the undisputed master of this form of theatre. He animates the shadows or the puppets, narrates, sings dialogue and poems, uses a different voice for each character, improvises jokes, and directs the gamelan — an orchestra composed of brass gongs. Such mastery does not come without a long apprenticeship; for this reason, among others, the dalang is a respected artist.

The wayang is a theatre with several functions: although it is entertaining and amusing, it also has a spiritual side. A wayang spectacle will often be presented at events which mark important changes in life, such as marriages, births or deaths. The performance usually begins at sunset, and can last all night, with both children and adults in attendance.

Today's wayang performances don't always have a markedly sacred character, however. International tours have brought renowned dalangs and their companies to stages throughout the world. Several dalangs have developed new repertoires or new forms, making the wayang a living tradition which continues to evolve.

Western puppet threatre has also been influenced by Indonesian puppetry. At the turn of the twentieth century, inspired by the wayang golek, European puppeteers begin to work with rod puppets and, today, these are among the most commonly-used types of puppets.

Bunraku: Puppet Theatre Of Japan
In Japan, a very particular type of puppet theatre, bunraku, developed during the seventeenth century. In this theatrical form, majestic dolls — which can measure as much as 145 cm — are each animated by three puppeteers, in full view of the public.

While the puppets play out the action, a narrator, sitting near the stage, tells the story, interprets the voices of the characters, and recites the poetic text. A musican accompanies the recital on a three-stringed musical instrument, called a shamisen, contributing to the dramatic atmosphere.

The art of bunraku lies in making the puppet's movement so lifelike that the audience forgets the presence of the puppeteers. In order to make the movements of bunraku puppets believable, the three puppeteers must synchronize their movements perfectly. To become a master puppeteer — the one who manipulates the puppet's head — a puppeteer must count on at least 25 years of training.

Bunraku is an extremely sophisticated form of theatre which presents dramas, often with tragic endings, in which the heroes must choose between passion and duty, and between love and honour. It is a theatre which is aimed primarily at an adult audience.

These dramas, in which the characters are eighteenth-century samurai warriors, aristocrats or representatives of the middle class, do not really reflect the problems and aspirations of modern Japanese society. In addition, Japanese artists have created contemporary forms of puppet theatre which differ from traditional bunraku. Bunraku remains fascinating, however, and the plays in its repertoire — written by playwright Chikamatsu — have become classics, in the way that the works of William Shakespeare or Jean Racine are classics. So important is this form of puppetry that a permanent theatre dedicated to the art of bunraku — the National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka — opened its doors in 1984.

Bunraku, with its unique way of manipulating the puppets in plain sight, has had a major influence on the development of modern puppetry. In effect, this technique is now often used, and has inspired several forms of full-view manipulation.