Automata

AUTOMATA: 1837 – 1848**. A puppet company under Mr W H F Parker. In 1837 he impressed Cape Town audiences with his huge, life-size Automaton figures. It “worked automatically through wires, ropes, steam” or someone inside the huge puppets. It was the first recorded puppet display in Cape Town. Shows included “Polander” (5 December 1837), “The Enchanted Turk”, “Children in the Wood” and “Trip to Brentford”. In 1838 the company took their show to Stellenbosch, Worcester, Swellendam, George and Uitenhage, in 1839 they were in Grahamstown. By 1848 Automata was back in Cape Town when Mr Parker assigned himself as manager of Drury Lane Theatre. Automata’s long run of performances was now at an end.** (Fletcher, 1994)

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