The Walker Art Center’s Adventures in New Puppetry series closes with Improbable’s The Devil and Mister Punch (a work-in-progress), Thursday-Saturday, May 19–21, in the William and Nadine McGuire Theater.

In this Walker-commissioned new work, Punch and Judy get slapped into the 21st century by the U.K.’s masters of contemporary puppet theater. “We can promise puppets and pianos, fingers and hands, crocodiles and sausages. It’s a beautiful and dirty show about love and fighting—not for the squeamish,” says Improbable cofounder Julian Crouch. “Extending far beyond the physical constraints of a traditional Punch and Judy booth, it will draw in part on that ancient story of violence and conflict, beloved by children and feared by the faint of heart, played out by a company of transatlantic wooden and papier-mache players and accompanied by the vibrant music of the jug band era.” Directed by Crouch, the work features long term Improbable Associate Artists Nick Haverson and Rob Thirtle, and guest artists U.S. puppeteers from Basil Twist’s company, musicians from Dan Zanes and Friends, and filmmaker Ragnar Freidank.

Image:The Devil and Mister Punch Photosaskia lane

Walker Art Center
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Minneapolis, MN 55403
www.walkerart.org

Related posts:

1. Walker Art Center Presents Adventures in New Puppetry, Chapter 1: Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM’s Dark Matters
2. Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum Presents Robert Taplin : Selections from the Punch Series, 2005–10
3. Wall-to-Wall Walker: Day-into-Night Celebration the Walker Art Center