Puppet Design and Fabrication

Handspring are behind the puppet direction, design and fabrication of the puppets for War Horse. Handspring was founded in 1981 by Adrian Kohler, Basil Jones. Originally the creators of children’s shows, their first adult production, Episodes of an Easter Rising, (1985) went to the International Festival of Puppet Theatre in Charleville-Mézières, France. Subsequent productions featured collaborations with leading South African directors. Woyzeck on the Highveld launched a 10-year collaboration with artist William Kentridge. Their co-productions have been presented in festivals throughout the world. Or You Could Kiss Me, written and directed by Neil Bartlett, premiered at the National Theatre in 2010. A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2013 played at The Bristol Old Vic and in the USA at the Spoleto Festival and the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Their most recent collaboration, Stiller, opened in June 2013 at the Cuvilliés Residenztheater, Munich.Handspring has received many awards including a Special Tony Award, an Olivier Award, as well as Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and LA Drama Critics Circle. Adrian Kohler, Handspring’s artistic director and puppet designer, has exhibited works at the South African National Gallery, Cape Town and the Museum for African Art in New York. His puppets are represented in public collections in Munich, Johannesburg, Cape Town and in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Janni Younge joined Handspring in 2011. Her production, Ouroboros, tours Belgium and France in September and November 2013. handspringpuppet.co.za