About this Event
The Jackman Humanities Institute is delighted to present a panel discussion with Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler and Professor Lawrence Switzky (UTM English and Drama) that will provide a scholarly look at Handspring Puppet Theatre’s development and effects. Basil Jones will address the theoretical basis for puppetry in critics such as Derrida, Merleau-Ponty, Deleuze, and Grosz. Adrian Kohler will demonstrate the progression of technical innovations that has made Handspring’s later work with giant puppets possible. And Lawrence Switzky will discuss “Learning from Handspring” considering their past and present work as a series of propositions about the capacities and opacities of the puppet — particularly as their art engages mastery, agency, compassion, the animal, and our relationship to technology.
This event is free and all are welcome!
Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler co-founded the Handspring Puppet Company in 1981, and their influence on puppetry worldwide has been huge. Handspring designed and constructed the life-sized horse puppets for the musical and was involved in the design of Little Amal. But beyond these major productions, Handspring has produced a number of pieces that tackled issues of social injustice in South Africa, such as Episodes of an Easter Rising and (written by Jane Taylor and directed by William Kentridge), which visited CanStage in Toronto in 2015. This production was a powerful impetus for the Mellon-funded project, Aesthetic Education: A South-North Dialogue (2016-2020) which connected scholars through the Jackman Humanities Institute and the Centre for Humanities Research at the University of the Western Cape.
On Thursday 8 June, the University of Toronto will recognize the accomplishments of Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler with honorary doctorates, and Little Amal will visit the University of Toronto and Sick Kids Hospital as a part of Luminato 2023.
Please be aware that this presentation will be recorded and live-streamed. Your voice, but not your face, will be recorded if you ask a question during the Q&A. Online participants may ask questions in the chat or via email.
A reception will follow.
For more information, contact Dr. Kimberley Yates, JHI Associate Director, at [email protected]
Photo credit: Vuk Valcic/Alamy Stock Photo
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Innis College Town Hall, 2 Sussex Avenue, Toronto, Canada
CAD 0.00