A matter of life and death: puppet masters reveal darkly humorous side in Hong Kong
Circus-set struggle between good and evil and Gothic thriller based on Edgar Allan Poe’s stories feature in city’s ‘From Puppets to Humans’ Series
Think of puppets and bright, fun shows for children often come to mind. Or perhaps religious performances, such as the shadow puppets of India or Indonesia.
Yet not all puppet shows are family friendly and even some of those that are, on closer inspection, have disquieting undertones.
Two such productions are on their way to Hong Kong in September and October – featuring elements of Gothic horror, death, insanity, mystery and black humour – which form part of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s “From Puppets to Humans” Series.
We like to play with dark humour ... and use scary and dark effects – we are not always so pedagogical. [Young] children do not understand this; that is why our show is for older children and adults
Some people believe that puppets are particularly well suited to dealing with the darker side of life.
Charles Dickens, after watching a performance of the popular puppet show, Punch and Judy, wrote in 1849: “It is possible, that one secret source of pleasure very generally derived from this performance … is the satisfaction the spectator feels in the circumstance that likenesses of men and women can be so knocked about, without any pain or suffering …
“Punch is one of those extravagant reliefs from the realities of life which would lose its hold upon the people if it were made moral and instructive.
“I regard it as quite harmless in its influence, and as an outrageous joke which no one in existence would think of regarding as an incentive to any kind of action or as a model for any kind of conduct.”
