Inspiration at the Victoria & Albert Museum

        Exhibition of puppetry it seems are few and far between. This may be because when displayed rather than operated they are 'dead' objects. Still interesting, and sometimes beautiful, no doubt, but failing to fulfill their purpose, which is to depict the illusion of life. They are displayed to their best advantage in festivals and performances. However, there are a few examples to be found in the Theatre and Performance Wing of the V&A, so it was here that I turned for inspiration.

        The first and most striking puppet in their collection is Joey, from the National Theatre's production of War Horse. Having only viewed him from the afar, as an audience member watching a puppet perform on stage, it was a special experience being able to get up close to such an imposing creation. In such close proximity, you can appreciate just how large the puppet is, and what a feat of engineering it must have been for Handspring Puppet Company to balance the necessary strength and structural integrity, in such a beautiful form, which must be able to perform like a living, breathing horse.

        There were other fascinating items on display too, such as a puppet from Rhinoceros, operated by two people and with a bicycle chain to enable movement of the head and tail, various masks, costumes, and set design models (which were all rather eerie), and a beautiful, ethereal dragon puppet.