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Broad approach: Puppetry

Example productions: War Horse, Or You Could Kiss Me, Woyzeck on Highveld

Key facts:

• Handspring are a theatre company based in Cape Town, South Africa
• they are best known for their work with the National Theatre’s War Horse, constructing full-scale horse puppets built of steel, leather and aircraft cables
• the majority of their work has been aimed at an older audience, rather than children, and influenced initially by West African puppetry traditions

Example techniques:

• larger puppets, often life-size
• mainly puppets of people and animals, brought to life by skilled puppeteers who make them appear to breathe
• structures created with a cane frame to keep them light and then layered with textiles and stretched fabrics, such as leather to make their animal puppets look more lifelike
• a range of operating systems used, eg rod-operated, marionettes and puppeteers wearing backpacks to support the weight