What’s in a name? The sense or non-sense of labelling puppets in contemporary Western theatre

Different terms can be use for puppet theatre: figure theatre, object theatre and animation theatre. Contemporary performances including puppets are nowadays often referred to as multimedia performances, crossover theatre and visual theatre. Some artists avoid the word “puppet” because of negative associations: close association with children and low status amongst the arts. Professional puppetry in many Western countries has evolved into a wide-ranging theatre form. Puppets traditionally used to be seen in isolation in performance and a distinct line could be drawn between puppet theatre and other forms of theatre, but the bonding with other art forms has diminished this segregation. As an artistic label, “puppet theatre” is perhaps not always appropriate as it does not acknowledge the artistic scope and complexity of an art work in which multiple visual and acoustic elements are applied, and this bonding raises questions about genre as a classification system.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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