Puppet theatre makes Shakespeare debut with historically violent play
It’s not very often that anyone gets the chance to see Shakespeare performed by puppets.
But after years of planning and hard work, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan is bringing one of the bard’s lesser-known plays to the riverbank — with the help of a huge arsenal of puppets.
Kristi Friday, one of the puppeteers for the upcoming production of Titus A. Puppet Revenge (an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus) said they’d made more than 40 puppets for the show.
“I think that’s also an interesting experience for people ... they might not even realize how many puppets have come in and out of the stage,” Friday said. “I wish we could turn the set around at the end of the show, just so they could see.”
Friday said getting the show off the ground has been a two-anda-half year process for herself, veteran puppeteer and puppetmaker Crispi Lord of Stumped Productions, and the artistic team of Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan. The entire cast of the show is only six people, which means Friday and her fellow performers each get a lot of puppets and a lot of lines to deal with.
Titus Andronicus tells the story of the titular Titus returning home to Rome after a successful war against the Goths, and the cycle of violent revenge that takes place as the captive queen Tamora plots against Titus after the death of her eldest son.
It’s a twisting tale full of more violence than any of Shakespeare’s other plays, which is one of the reasons it has fallen out of favour among his works.
Friday stressed that the show is not for children, and is full of graphic violence and mentions of sexual assault.
“I think there’s a little bit of everything,” she said.
But Friday also said using puppets might be the best way to tell the story of Titus Andronicus. As she put it, it’s much easier to depict beheadings and characters losing limbs using puppets than with a human actor.
It’s been a busy time preparing for Titus A. Puppet Revenge, as most of the performers also have roles in the main Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan summer shows Hamlet and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
When: July 12 to Aug. 19
Tickets: Many price points up to $28
Where: Festival site north of University Bridge
Box Office: On site opens at noon or call 306-652-9100 Online: shakespearesask.com