Four Iranian sisters from Iran will string up the award-winning hand puppet musicaL, The Bald Hero, at the Ishara International Puppet Festival which begins today. Here's your chance to watch masters of puppets from Israel, Italy, Brazil and Switzerland weave their magic
Four Iranian sisters from Iran will string up the award-winning hand puppet musicaL, The Bald Hero, at the Ishara International Puppet Festival which beginsu00a0today. Here's your chance to watch masters of puppets from Israel, Italy, Brazil and Switzerland weave their magic
The four sister-puppeteers of the Iranian Apple Tree Group make a stronger statement on girl power than outspoken libbers. "In the past, Pahlevan Kachal was only performed by male actors. We are the only female group in Iran to perform this folklore," says Sima. She is in India with her sisters to perform their award-winning musical version of the tale that has been forgotten with time. With a greedy, bald champion as the unlikely leading man, Pahlevan Kachal (The Bald Hero) has won the Golden Mermaid Award of Italy's Dawn of Storytelling Festival and staged in Ireland, Belarus, Poland, Turkey, Italy and Serbia. The hero's devious tricks to get help from mischievous assistant Mobarak forms the crux of the hilarious show. "We tried to revive this folklore with synchronised music and special-style hand puppets," say the sisters who are scheduled perform on day 2 of the Ishara International Puppet Festival that kicks off on Wednesday.u00a0
Masters of puppets from Brazil, Israel, Switzerland and Italy will converge at the NCPA for the burlesque. Dadi Pudumjee, the man at the helm, refutes the notion that puppetry gets a raw deal in India. "India is one of the few countries in the world where a puppeteer is given a national award by the President," he says alluding to the SNA (Sangeet Natak Akademi) award that he won in 1992.
Brazilian group Pia Fraus will showcase the richness of jungle with inflatable puppets, music and choreography in Bichos do Brasil (Animals from Brazil). Think of it as environmental awareness to the rhythm of the Forro, Fervo, Samba, Bossa Nova and Maracatu. Switzerland comes in with a grey chick in search of an identity in Krunk.u00a0
As an audience member, you get to parley with the on-stage antics too. Interact and improve with Neapolitan puppetry expert Bruno Leone on February 13 in I Teatrini. In 1978, Leone learned the art of the Guarattelle (Neapolitan puppetry) from Nunzio Zampella, the last of the masters of a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages. The art of the Guarattelle owes its vitality to the skill of the puppet masters in linking tradition and modernity while keeping up the mood of the public.
What's on when?
February 10: A Touch of Light by The Train Theatre from IsraelAdaptation. Direction and Design by Patricia O'Donovan-Lockard.
An inspiring piece based on the life of Louis Braille who invented the alphabet for the blind.
February 11: Pahlevan Kachal (The Bald Hero) by Apple Tree Group from IranDirected by Fahime Mirzahoseini. A family of four sisters presents an award-winning traditional musical about the bald, money-loving Pahlevan Kachal. He uses every trick in the book to get help from naughty assistant, Mobarak
February 13: I Teatrini -- Storie di Pulcinella by Bruno Leone from ItalyPerformed and directed by Bruno Leone. A hilarious show of Guarattelle -- traditional Neapolitan puppetry -- which uses handcrafted puppets and improvisation.
February 14: Bichos do Brasil (Animals from Brazil) by Pia Fraus. Directed by Beto Andretta. This eco-conscious colourful performance shows the richness of the Brazilian jungle through inflatable puppets and music.
February 15: Krunk by Les Bamboches, Switzerland. Directed by Katia Larvego. A simple tale that raises questions about friendship, solidarity and identity.
At: 6.30 pm from February 10 to 15 at Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point, Churchgate. Free passes available at venue.
Call: 22824567
