Wooden act that’ll pull at your heart strings

This year, the annual Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust brings their puppet festival to Mumbai. What's ON tells you why you should start queuing up for tickets right away

The President of the International Puppetry Organisation, UNIMA (Union Internationals de la Marlonette), Dadi Pudumjee, is an excited man. The upcoming shows in Mumbai are going to be sell-outs just like those before in Delhi, he's sure, with Turkish and Taiwanese puppet theatre groups sure to draw audiences.u00a0

Puppeteer: Through the Trust, Dadi hopes to find ways to sustain puppetry and puppeteers and to maintain traditions while broadening the utility of this art form. The organisation strives to appeal to diverse audiences through their multi-faceted performances, which combine puppetry and music with dance, narratives and acting. Ishara also organises workshops and performances to educate audiences about issues such as HIV/AIDS and drug-abuse.

Foreign acts in store for Mumbai: The upcoming Mumbai shows will include two foreign acts, both with "no recorded soundtracks" a Turkish performance by Tiyatrotem from Istanbul, and a performance by Taiwan's Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company. "The Turkish production titled, How to Tell It? is a mix of traditional and modern styles. It's a new, young and modern group," says Dadi, about the team that will present shadow, and contemporary table-top puppetry.

Chen Xihuang, 79, Taiwan's master puppeteer will be presenting a production titled, The Beauty of Taiwanese Puppet Theatre, about an accidental marriage that takes place between a young man and a woman. This production will include martial arts and fighting scenes, all beautifully orchestrated. "It's a traditional Taiwanese show that has been performed in over 20 countries," says Dadi. Robin Ruizendaal, Managing Director of the Taiyuan Company offered a sneak peek into his production saying, "Our show is a form of traditional glove puppet theatre performed on a beautifully carved wooden stage. I'm keen to engage audiences in an interaction after the show."

Each production will run for about 55 minutes, but audiences can stretch their legs during a break. On January 31 and February 1 at Experimental Theatre, National Centre for Performing Arts, Nariman Point. Call on 66223737.

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