The internet is full of videos, many of them awful. Here we will try and link to some of the best we have found. All are on external websites like Youtube.

Bunraku

Monjuro Kiritake and the Osaka Bunraku. In the video he demonstrates a sequence where a female figure mimes a brief sewing routine. An example of his extraordinary manipulation skill when performing female roles.

Members of the National Bunraku Theatre show the teamwork and skils involved in bunraku by practicing without the puppet.

The demonstration of the carving of the Bunraku kashira (head) by the great master Minosuke Ohi

Kabuki

Hidakagawa Zakura’, featuring the great Kabuki Onagata (female role) Tamasaburo, in the role of ‘Keyho-Hime’. In the sequence Tamasabura plays the role as a Bunraku figure, manipulated by two human actors. This technique has the name ‘Ningyhbura’ (puppet style acting) the same piece is also performed in the Bunraku theatre. The piece is still very popular in both forms, and is performed by Kabuki actors as a means of recognising the importance of the Bunraku in the evolution of Kabuki.

Lotte Reiniger

Hansel and Gretel

The Little Chimney Sweep

Jack and the Beanstalk

Cinderella

Sicily

The puppets of Sicily are most famous for their spectacular and often bloody telling of the tales of Charlemagne. Made from wood with hammered out metal armour the puppets are very heavy. The operators often put their own hands through a loop hung from the roof in order to relieve some of the strain from supporting the puppets during a performance. Below are some videos from You Tube from different theatres.

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All images and content are copyright of John M Blundall and Stephen Foster or are part of The John M Blundall Collection unless stated otherwise