Clown's Houses Merlin Puppet Theatre | Greece
“Clowns’ Houses”: A puppet theory for the human nothing.With Edit Sitwell whispering in their ear, 'Merlin' was inspired to create 'Clowns’ Houses', their first puppetry show for adults.One house, five flats, six characters: they look happy, but in fact they are leading tragicomic existences. They fear life, not death. Trapped in everyday routines and habits, reality appears in their dreams as terrifying monsters: flaming heads, suffocating electrical cables, aggressive TVs and long dragon’s necks that spit out bank notes. The surreal dream-like scenes revolve around greed and violence, crime and punishment. With table-top puppets, marionettes, animated objects and elements of shadow puppetry, “Clowns’ Houses” creates an unsettling image of society in miniature.The spectator is watching them live their conventional lives in a dark, claustrophobic setting, with their fears, obsessions and loneliness. 'Merlin' are dramatizing and demonizing their obsessions until they finally punish and liberate them with the most violent manner. Through the dark rooms of 'Clowns’ Houses' the loneliness of the modern man is displayed; prison-like houses, people trapped into their routines and habits, distant from their dreams.
Concept: Merlin Puppet Theatre
Puppeteers: Demy Papada, Dimitris Stamou
Puppets: Dimitris Stamou
Costumes: Demy Papada
Music: Achileas Charbilas
Narration: Chris Androvitsaneas
Photographs: Dimitris Poupalos
Acknowledgments: Dimitris Poupalos, Evina Vasilopoulou, Faye Stamou, Natasa Crisovitsanou, Natasa Tapaki, Matoula Chrysou, Olga Dourachani
Technique: Table-top puppets, objects and shadows
For audiences over: +12
Running time: 60 min.
Language: Some words in English
Ciclo: FIMFA Lx'13