The world of “Opera dei pupi"

In May I went to see the Opera dei Pupi Teatro Arcento in Palermo.

I had read about the art of Sicilian puppetry and found it fascinating to watch a piece of entertainment that is totally analogue and grounded in physical form, from dimming the house lights in the “auditorium” to flying in the drops and the physical act of puppeteering.

Puppetry is a very ancient form of theatre which was first recorded in the 5th century BC in Ancient Greece and some forms of puppetry most likely originated long before that.  Puppetry occurs is almost all human societies and has been used to animate and communicate ideas, perhaps even before actors on a stage.

As with all forms of entertainment it is often possible to express opinions and thoughts which may be politically dangerous “in the name of art” and the family run businesses of Sicilian Puppeteers were born as a symbol of the uprising of the poorer classes at the turn of the 20^th Century.

The stories are fairly basic and revolve around key characters who either fall in love, seek vengeance or wield power – fairly standard human fare.

What was most fascinating about this form of entertainment was that the only thing that was digital was the iPhones taking photos. The puppeteers were experts at involving children and engaging the audience by enabling them to sit on the stage and go behind the scenes.  For them it is of huge importance to keep this art form alive as much to preserve their heritage but also as part of the broader history of puppetry.

As a child I was fascinated by Punch and Judy which derived from the Neapolitan stock character of Pulcinella, anglicised to Punchinello. I also had my own stock of puppets including Basil Brush but my favourite toy was Action Man - definitely not Barbie or Ken - a British soldier who had all the uniforms and livery – perfect for a good military only-child brat living in London!  I adored going to Hamleys and drooling at the uniforms and then would spend hours in my own little world of adventures with everything from formal parades to military espionage.

When I had my own children I encouraged them to also play with physical dolls in make-believe worlds and my son in particular immersed himself in his Star Wars and Thunderbird action figures where he could swish his light-sabre and fly through space.  (For those who know him he also dressed up as these figures and spent hours acting out his own imaginary adventures - I think this has played a huge part in his creativity as a musician).

Puppets and dolls are ways in which humans can interact with imaginary worlds in a proactive way, and whilst it is often seen that it is mainly puppets which are designed to simulate motion or speech dolls (often seen as primarily static figures intended for play or display) can also walk and talk.

The reality is that humans of all ages like playing and interacting with physical things - it is a key part of our emotional and physical development.

As the amount of time that we all spend on screens is increasing – particularly young people it seems to me that we need to ensure that we don’t loose the essence of how we imagine and play in the physical world, nor should we trivialise how much emotional attachment we as humans give to our playmates, whether they be physical or virtual.

What I found so refreshing about the Opera dei Pupi was its simplicity, its direct engagement with the audience of all ages, and how it spoke to the essential themes of just being human.

Whilst we become increasingly enamoured of the virtual world we need to remember what we want to retain from our past and pass on to future generations before we forget what it was.

It is in the passing from living memory that mistakes of history repeat themselves. (Mike Duncan, The History of Rome, Episode 7)

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