The artificiality of life in Handspring Puppet Company's 'War Horse'

Abstract

The phenomenon of life and death has for a long time fascinated humanity. The puppet embodies the paradox of life and death as it represents both these occurrences simultaneously. The allure of these figures rests in the concept that everything in the world encompasses life, even a seemingly lifeless object ‘bridges the gap between his seeming limitations and his coming to life’ (Francis 2012: 13). This belief in the life of objects is only possible because of those who believe it is possible. It is the spectator who has the final say in accepting what he is shown. In contemporary puppet theatre this is more of a challenge as the puppeteer is visible to the audience making the action on stage a three - way relationship between the puppet, puppeteer and the spectator. The puppet is a metaphor which appeals to our senses, thus it carries multiple, diverse meanings for its viewers, and this is fundamental for the construction of the spectator’s individual perception of reality. People can relate objects to other physical and metaphysical entities through a consciousness that allows their imagination to hide ‘the original object and cloud the perceiver’s ability to experience its true nature’ (States 1984: 22 in Younge 2011: 2). Artistic expression is not simply conditioned by a person’s conscious actions but rather by both conscious and unconscious actions, just like a child would unconsciously believe in the life of a puppet. The audience views the action on stage in a more intuitive manner. So that when pieces of cane and plywood are put together to construct a horse such as in the play War Horse, the audience believes that it is truly a horse moving before their eyes. In doing so, the audience’s imagination plays a vital part in achieving that childlike innocence which helps them experience puppetry in a truly magical way. The imagination of both the puppeteer and the spectator is an essential element which gives life to the puppets on stage where the puppeteer obtains the ‘unconscious ability to project visual and spiritual imagination into the figure being operated’ (Francis 2012: 28). The puppeteer, or rather his hand, is the ‘soul’ of the puppet and the giver of life.