Barrydale puppets will delight families
CREATIVITY springs eternal in Barrydale, where a new and innovative showcase of the much-loved giant puppets that have delighted audiences here for 10 years, is about to be launched.
Each year Net Vir Pret, in partnership with the Laboratory of Kinetic Objects at the Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) at UWC, The Ukwanda Puppet Collective, and Handspring Puppet Company Trust collaborate to produce a Reconciliation Day parade in Barrydale.
Covid-19 restrictions unfortunately mean that the annual street parade will not take place this year, but the magic is set to continue online, with a fourday virtual spectacle, called Reboot Eden.
“Covid-19 has shown how we can use technology to reach our audiences, and as such, we have been grateful for the opportunity to encourage young makers to experiment with video arts and new social media platforms. As a result, a new generation of digitally savvy young artists are emerging in Barrydale,” said Dr Aja Marneweck, Artistic Director and Postdoctoral Fellow at the CHR at UWC.
With the support of the CHR’s Acting Director, Prof Heidi Grunebaum, and Prof Jane Taylor, the Andrew W Mellon Chair in Aesthetic Theory and Material Performance, the Barrydale event has become a cohesive point for the CHR’s inquiry into the meaning of post-apartheid freedom, especially as the festival stages the complexities of reconciliation in a society scarred by centuries of race, gender and generational conflicts.
Over the past 10 years, stories developed by the Barrydale community have been woven into larger concerns about the environment, technology and health, but always with an emphasis on learning through play.
This year’s online programme will feature puppets from past parades, which had a different theme each year. Some of the stars of this year’s show include a three-metre redfin minnow, an eland and two life-size elephants.
The launch on 16 December of the long-awaited musical album “Celebration: 10 years of the Barrydale Puppet Parade” - in memory of the parade’s musical co-director, Gari Crawford, who passed away on 14 November - is one of the highlights of the programme.
Now in its 10th year, the project involves more than 200 local community members, youth and children from the surrounding farms. Over the past decade, 66 students from Barrydale have studied further because of their involvement in CHR’s project, said Prof Premesh Lalu, former director of the CHR.
“And now, after a decade of partnership, where a solid foundation was laid for the longevity of this important creative collaboration, we look forward to handing over the project to the residents of Barrydale.”