ouroboros

Janni Younge, the director, says “When I gave birth to my first child, I felt closer to death than I ever had. It made no sense, but there it was – my experience. When I was writing “Ouroboros” this powerful encounter with life was so present, I could see only that. So I created this play. Fascinated by the fragility of the human being, the moment of creation [of the Self, of relationship and of art], the journey towards trust and wholeness and also by the cup of tea of glass of whiskey that happens along the way. “Ouruboros” is not a conventional play; it is structured across space and time; across interior and exterior landscapes. Watch “Ouroboros” as if you are reading a poem. Let the images and stories make connections and trust you own interpretation. …..”

Synopsis: “Ouroboros” is inspired by the poetry of Billy Collins, and is unconventionally structured and can be viewed as a weaving of interaction between the two main characters and is essentially a love story between a poet, Andre and a dancer, Nokobonisa.

“Ouroboros” is an ancient symbol of a serpent swallowing its own tail, forming a circle. It represents self-reflexivity or cyclicality in the sense of something constantly recreating itself.
The obtuse nature of the director results in one’s seemingly inability to easily grasp the meaning of the play first hand. Therefore, before one can begin to fathom this rendition of “Ouroboros” by the Hand Spring Puppet Company, one must first read the programme, otherwise you may react with a lack of information.

The cuteness and exquisitely expressive puppets are well observed and the animations are beautifully and expertly handled. I did however find the puppeteer’s cream coloured outfits were rather unappealing and very distracting to me. The general rule for puppeteers is they must blend into the background and the puppets seen to be the main characters. The idea is the audience be conscious of the puppets- not the puppeteers. The stage in this context of puppetry must always be black. Likewise, the puppeteers should be clothed in black thus blending into the background so the puppets remain the main feature.

Quite disturbing was a screen shape being totally visible as a background. Once as graphic visuals at the beginning – intermittently – and at the end; otherwise the screen should fade away completely. Manni Manim, as a lighting expert should know this.

In the modern times of technology, I ask myself: “Why is it not being used to create depth?” Another non-bio-degradable thought came to mind during the performance: Each tableau was laid out on a bare table with iron legs; the audience is constantly conscious of the puppeteer’s foot-work under the table. It would have been more pleasing if the table had been covered with floor hugging black cloth thus giving the puppets the full reign of the stage they deserved.
Remember when seeing this show to read the programme first.