The Mind Creative March 2014
Chinese rod puppets
Courtesy: Dr. Meierhofer
Puppetry came to England, Italy
and some other European
countries in the Middle Ages
(16th century onwards). The
roots of the ever popular “Punch
and Judy” puppet show can be
traced back to the 16th century
in Italy. However, the act gained
maximum popularity in Britain
in the 18th century. This was also
the time when theatre (including
Marionette Theatre) established
itself firmly in Italy (specially in
Venice);
where,
strangely
enough, rod puppets were
generally for the socially lower
classes while marionette theatre
was the love of the aristocrats.
The ever-popular Punch and Judy
Early 20th century brought a big
revival in marionette theatre
and it is noteworthy that one of
George Bernard Shaw’s last
plays (Shakes versus Shav)
was written for and performed
by a prominent puppet theatre
company in Britain.
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