International folk tales come alive at puppet theatre festival

While India’s Puppet Shala Group retold the story of Gulliver who finds himself a giant among the habitants of the magical island of Lilliput, the Netherlands’ Frans Hakkemars depicted the everyday tales of Jan Klaassen, a puppet character from the 17th century.

Hakkemars’ “Jan Klaassen, Katrijn & the Crown of King William Alexander” invoked laughter from the audience as Klaassen decided to find his stolen bicycle and the King’s crown in a series of comic events.

Talking about the character and its depiction, Hakkemars said that the story was initially meant for adults but was adapted for younger audiences later.

“In the 17th century, it was started as theatre for the poor and by the poor. Then it was for adults, it was to express their daily lives and their harsh realities. But 100 years ago, when more children started going to school, the teachers and pedagogue thought it is a bit rude with a lot of cursing, beating, and sexual jokes. So it was adapted more for children,” Hakkemars told PTI.

The character of Jan Klaassen is now mostly associated with children.

On Thursday, Hungarian puppeteer Szervac Horvath told a folk lore from his land in which a dragon, who is afraid of heights, and a devil of dark depths, who is afraid of darkness, form the most unlikely friendship to rescue the princess of a distant land from the clutches of a rather inept wizard.

Horvath, along with musicians and performers Mate Kaso and Levente Lengyel, presented “The Dragon and The Devil” and another tale titled “Salt” at the festival.

The week-long festival will see “Aisha’s Journey”, based on a Swedish children’s book, performed by renowned puppeteer and festival director Dadi Pudumjee’s team.

Talking about the younger generation learning the craft, Pudumjee said that they all are doing great work with their traditions but they want to make new repertoire, new stories, new production work.

There was a need to recognise and encourage younger artists who want to experiment with the craft.

“There is a strong need for them to upgrade, to develop, to use technology. This is what all our agencies, our academies must realise that there are younger groups in traditional puppetry who want to try new things,” he said.

First launched in 2001, the festival brings together puppeteers, artists and performers from around the globe to celebrate puppetry through a diverse range of storylines and techniques.

Over the last three days, South Korea’s Theatre Sangsahwa will pay homage to the nation’s rich cultural heritage through a mix of puppets, dance and music.

Italy’s Agostino Cacciabue will present heart-warming stories and comic vignettes inspired from his own life in “Il Fil’armonico” and Pudumjee will present “Rumiyana” on February 20, bringing to life the works of the great mystic Sufi poet and philosopher, Rumi.

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