Handspring Puppet Company

Founded in 1981 by Adrian Kohler, Basil Jones, Jill Faubet and Joe Weinberg, it got its name from a quotation by the famous Russian puppeteer Sergei Obratzov: “The soul of the puppet springs from the palm of the hand.” Their activities include performances for both children and adults, involvement in health care and development, lecturing at tertiary institutions and mounting exhibitions. Also known for their collaborative work on adult shows, notably with artist, film-maker and theatre director William Kentridge. Prominent adult shows include Episodes of an Easter Rising (1985), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1988), Woyzeck on the Highveld (1992), Faustus in Africa (1995), Ubu and the Truth Commission (1997), the operas Il Ritorno d’Ulisse (“The Return of Ullyses”), which premiéred at the celebrated Kusten Festival des Artes in Brussels in 1998, and The Confessions of Zeno (Documenta XI, Kassel; Spier, 2002). In these multi-media shows, directed by Kentridge, the company combined live actors, puppet and film footage. The puppets used for Faustus in Africa (designed by Kentridge and made by Kohler**??) have since been housed in the *** museum in Berlin. Handspring Puppet Company: Adrian Kohler was part of them. They staged Woyzeck on the Highveld in 1992 and Faustus in Africa in 1995. Fred Abrahamse’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was staged at the Market through a Market-Baxter-Handspring Puppet Company collaboration in 1989. They performed in Barney Simon’s Starbrites which was staged at the Market in September 1990. William Kentridge directed them in Woyzeck on the Highveld at Upstairs at the Market in 1992. **** (Tucker, 1997)

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