As the boundaries of puppetry expand, new spaces open up for activating the inanimate. The hybridity and indomitable desire for freedom that we recognise in contemporary puppetry are inevitably accompanied by a plunge into its most ancient sources: the further puppetry moves into the future, the more it resembles its ancestors. Through their animistic power, puppets challenge the limits of imagination and the possibilities of representing changing materials.
This study takes us to shows and puppet theatre companies where the idea of animism emerges to explore the expressive possibilities of materials, to tell us stories and reactivate landscapes, real or from our dreams.