Neville Tranter (1955, Australia) completed his drama studies in 1976, and founded the Stuffed Puppet Theatre the same year. After the Stuffed Puppet Theatre had taken part in the Festival of Fools in Amsterdam in 1978, Neville Tranter moved to the Netherlands, where his visual and emotional adult puppet theatre developed to assume its present form. In his own brutal, ruthless but poetic way, he confronts the audience with their fears and dreams, urges and desires, personified by what are often life size talking puppets.As acclaimed puppeteer and specialist in performing with human size puppets Neville Tranter has several years of experience giving masterclasses and workshops for puppeteers and actors.
At Friday 5 April Neville Tranter performs his very last performance UBU at Plein Theater.
Masterclass: The Power of the Puppet
Neville Tranter has given workshops worldwide. Language of instruction is English and/or Dutch.
Profile of the participants : Puppeteers, actors, singers
The participants will work with a puppet and bring it to “life”. They can bring with them a puppet of their own, but this is not necessary.
- The theme of the workshop is to help explore and teach participants the possibilities of the puppet as a strong theatrical medium.
- Furthermore, there will be a strong emphasis on the role of the puppeteer as a performing actor himself. The puppeteer does not disappear behind the puppets. His presence on stage is an integral part in the performance.
- The participants will work with a puppet and bring it to “life”.
- The participants will not only interact with the puppet but also with the other participants in creating short scenes. The input of the participants plays a big role.
Attention will be given to:
- How the manipulations of the puppet affects the audience.
- How the roles of puppet and puppeteer are interchangeable (who serves who?).
- Differences between the “body language”of the puppet and that of the puppeteer
Special attention may be given to:
- Possibilities to tell a story with puppets
- How the theatre space can be used and how essential this is
Queering Puppets Festival Amsterdam
From April 3 to 7, Plein Theater presents the Queering Puppets Festival Amsterdam together with Cat Smits Company!
Since 2022, Queering Puppets Festival Amsterdam has offered a stage for genre-transcending forms of visual theatre, object theatre, puppetry and queer perspectives. In the safe space that puppetry creates, everyone can be whoever he, she, them is. Plein Theater and Cat Smits Company defy the norm with this festival full of colorful visual outbursts Queering Puppets is LGBTIQA+ friendly, feminist, activist and above all standing out in queerness! In this third edition from April 3 to 7, 2024, the theme is Weapons of the weak.