Snuff Puppets is an Australian puppet theatre company. Founded in 1992, they combine elements of puppetry, live music,[1] visual and physical theatre to discuss taboo topics and make political satire.[2]
History[edit]
Snuff Puppets originated in Canberra as part of Splinters Theatre of Spectacle.[3] They moved to a warehouse in the suburb of Footscray in Melbourne in 1992, and are now based in the historic Footscray Drill Hall. Snuff Puppets founding members were Pauline Cady, Simon Terrill, and the current artistic director Andy Freer.[4]
The company tours with indoor and outdoor shows and roaming acts, which they refer to as interventions because of their interactions with traffic and shoppers.[citation needed]
Snuff Puppets have toured over 25 countries, including New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Romania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[citation needed] They have held workshops in Australia, Denmark, England, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[citation needed]
The Victorian State Government and Maribyrnong City Council have supported Snuff Puppets with annual Arts Funding.[5]
Response[edit]
In 2015, Snuff Puppet's promotional video for the installation "Everybody"[6] went viral; copies of the video have been reported as being viewed nearly 1 billion times.[7]
Works in repertoire[edit]
Shows[edit]
- A Cruel Life
- Circus Ole - with acrobat
- The Dancing Cow Show
- Everybody - Premiered Melbourne November 2012
- Everybody / Installation - Premiered Melbourne February 2015
- Forest In The Night
- Nyet Nyet's Picnic - with Australian Indigenous Artists
- Snuff Clubb
- Snuff Party
- Scarey
- Wedhus Gembel - with Padepokan Seni from Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Workshops[edit]
- People's Puppet Projects
- Kidsnuff
- Snuff Skool - Premiered Hong Kong 2014
Roaming acts[edit]
- Bunyips - with Australian Indigenous Artists
- The Boom Family
- Cows and Butcher/Cowboy
- Giant Crayfish- with the Bob Brown Foundation
- Elephant
- Human Body Parts
- Rhinocerus
- Seagulls
- Skullies
- Snail
References[edit]
- ^ "Finalists – Snuff Puppet Band". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ "Home". Snuffpuppets.com.
- ^ "RealTime Arts - Magazine - issue 50 - Snuff Puppets rule!". Raltimearts.net.
- ^ "Andy Freer". Snuffpuppets.com.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ Snuff Puppets - Everybody - Giant Human Puppet on YouTube
- ^ "Is this the weirdest clip on the internet? Viral video has almost a BILLION views". Dailystar.co.uk. 12 August 2016.
External links[edit]
37°47′55″S 144°53′17″E / 37.7986647°S 144.8879336°E