Puppets come alive
IT has taken three years to get the Potehi Glove Puppet Theatre Of Penang book released. This project, celebrating the traditional glove puppet theatre of Penang, has been a true labour of love, and the public will finally have a preview of this book at a dialogue session at The Warehouse, Hin Bus Depot in George Town, Penang, this Sunday at 4pm.
To call Potehi Glove Puppet Theatre Of Penang just a book might be an understatement.
It is a bilingual multimedia box set – containing a lavishly illustrated large-format book, two flipbooks, a stage pop-up, four posters (detailing potehi’s history) and a performance DVD.
The book’s contents are housed in a box resembling the chest where potehi performers store their puppets.
“This book project has come a long way since we received a grant in 2013 to start our research on potehi – one of the oldest performing arts traditions in Penang and South-East Asia,” says Okui Lala (Chew Win Chen), a Penang-based multidisciplinary artist, who is one of the five authors of the Potehi Glove Puppet Theatre Of Penang book.
“It’s a fun and approachable book which will appeal to everybody,” she adds.
The book, published by George Town World Heritage Incorporated, is co-authored by academic Tan Sooi Beng, visual artist Liew Kung Yu, community-based researcher Ong Ke Shin and programme manager Foo Wei Meng.
This collaborative effort, with future potehi projects ahead, is mainly driven by the Kar-wan Potehi (Friends of Potehi) community in Penang, which connected the authors, researchers, designers and puppet masters featured in the publication.
The authors, all active members of Kar-wan Potehi, have been working to revitalise the art of potehi puppetry through documentation, publications, exhibitions and performances.
The book is based on the observation, photography and videography of performances and rituals, as well as interviews with the main performers of the four main potehi companies in Penang.
“The book provides an understanding of the historical development, performance contexts and how the performative conventions have been reshaped in Penang in both English and Mandarin,” says Tan, a professor of ethnomusicology at Universiti Sains Malaysia.
The Potehi Glove Puppet Theatre Of Penang book will be available at a special price at the dialogue session this Sunday at Hin Bus Depot. The book retails for RM188. Facebook: ‘Celebrating The Potehi Glove Puppet Theatre Of Penang.’ Visit: gtwhi.com.my.