![]() ![]() Image: ‘Albert the Magic Pudding’ puppets from the 1970, 19 Marionette Theatre of Australia productions of The Magic Pudding. Bunyip Bluegum (a koala), Bill Barnacle (an ex-sailor), and Sam Sawnoff (a penguin) are favourites. The Magic Pudding, first performed in 1960, is based on the 1918 children’s book - written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay, who also drew the characters for the puppet designs. They include The Explorers, The Magic Pudding, The Water Babies, Tales from Noonameena, The Magical Tintookies Return, The Mysterious Potamus and Sydney Coves. There are 150 surviving puppets in the collection. By 1983, the company had its own theatre in The Rocks, until closing in 1988.ĭeep in the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation archives collection in Sydney, safe and sound in their custom-made calico ‘sleeping bags’, are many of the company’s surviving puppets.Ī warehouse fire in 1969 destroyed 350 of their early puppets. ![]() It was the first large-scale puppet show in Australia with unique local themes.įor more than 20 years, they entertained Australian families, and toured Europe and Asia. Previously in 1956, the pioneering puppeteer had staged his ground-breaking puppet musical The Tintookies - the ‘little people’ from the sandhills. In 1965 the Marionette Theatre of Australia was founded by Peter Scriven and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. Amateur hand puppet and marionette productions became popular from the 1940s. In Australia, puppetry after European settlement was influenced by British traditions of ‘Punch and Judy’. The Salzburger Marionettentheater use up to eighty! Usually, marionettes have around 10 strings. ‘Marionette’ means ‘little Mary’ in French, a reference to biblical puppetry of the Middle Ages. Further head mechanisms move the jaw, eyes and eyelashes. Marionettes, or ‘string puppets’, allow lifelike movement of heads, fingers and knees. There are shadow puppets, rod puppets, and string puppets. Puppets range from simple finger puppets to Jim Henson’s fantastical world of Muppets and films such as Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. This style can be seen The Lion King character of Timon. A performance of Bunraku can last for hours. The large puppets are operated by three visible puppeteers with their hands and rods, accompanied by chanting narration and shamisen string instruments. In Japan, a style of puppetry called Bunraku evolved in Osaka. The artisan who made the dolls is said to have been inspired to invent a system of strings so he could make them dance himself. ![]() Indian legends tell of the divine creation of puppets when the God Shiva and his wife Parvati inhabit two wooden dolls, making them dance beautifully. Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, November 11 2009. Exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. This roughly meant ‘to pull threads’ of ‘marionette puppets’. The Ancient Greek philosopher Xenophon wrote about an entertainer from Syracuse present at a banquet with his ‘neurospasta’. From there, the entertainment and storytelling art of puppetry was born.Ĭlay and ivory puppets have been found in Ancient Egyptian tombs. Historians believe puppetry developed spontaneously from religious rites and rituals in societies, where objects represented gods and deities. The archivist for the S,B&W Foundation says that puppetry is a universal, ancient artform which is for everyone. Each puppet is then handcrafted, stuffed and sewn together. This is achieved by a small group of women in Nanjing and Melbourne.Are puppets all child’s play? Not according to Susan Mills. We use old methods, cutting the materials with a small hand machine. This enables the animal to come to life when it’s used. All our patterns are hand-drawn then shaped into the three-dimensional shape that’s meticulously worked by producing many samples until the spirit of the animal is revealed. Through tested processes, the material meets European Environmental Standards to maximize the removal of hazardous substances in wastewater to harmless levels, before discharging. We use a base in the dye that does not contain Azo formaldehyde and other harmful substances. All dye runoff is contained and disposed of in an ecologically safe way. We use the very best quality Faux Fur and we work together with our manufacturer to meet the highest standards in environmentally sustainable practices in the fabrication of our animals. The lining made from 100% organic cotton. All our puppets and toys are hand- made and environmentally sustainable. ![]()
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