Talk of the Town

The Art of Political Theatre

Mon. Dec. 15th, 7:30-9:00 pm

With: Ronnie Burkett, Ronnie Burkett’s Theatre of Marionettes

It is hard to describe a Ronnie Burkett performance without resorting to a list of superlatives and adoring adjectives, but here goes. Ronnie Burkett creates a world on stage, peoples it with dressed-up wooden puppets who, like Pinocchio, become real characters and then he makes you care about them. With each production he sets new creative and performance challenges for himself, taking on new themes and enriching his stagecraft. He has given us new ideas and insights into the role of the artist, the true nature of love and beauty, the necessity of resistance and through it all, a constant reminder of what it means to be fully human. But it is the experience of taking in one of Ronnie Burkett’s productions that seems to stick with audiences and reviewers alike. That experience has been described so well by critics around the world, we’ll leave it to them to tell you what it is like. We’ll just steal one line from The Independent of London: “If theatre is about transcendence, about wonderment, this is the best theatre in London.” And that’s true wherever the Theatre of Marionettes puts on a performance.

Ronnie Burkett appears in Provenance at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre Dec. 4th - 21st, 2003. Details can be found at http://www.vecc.bc.ca/.

Full tour schedule: http://www.johnlambert.ca/ronnie/provenance/provenance_calendar.html.

“Ronnie Burkett is my absolute favourite Canadian theatre artist, bar none -- a certified genius.”

Jerry Wasserman, Actor, Critic and Teacher

Provenance

“Burkett’s status as a true theatre renegade is confirmed with Provenance, premiering at Theatre Network before setting forth in the world. It is a strange and wonderful experience. It’s genuinely experimental. It’s wildly challenging, difficult sometimes elusive, unnerving, possibly a bit much and absolutely unmissable. How often does that happen in the theatre?”

The Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Canada 2003)

Happy

“Happy is a monumental achievement. Two unstinting, unbroken hours of word, song, minuscule gesture, inventiveness, surrealism and humanity. And if theatre's about transcendence, about wonderment, this is the best theatre in London.

The Independent (London, England 2001)

“Burkett is a genius, whose skills seem endless.”

Manchester on stage, (Manchester, England 2003)

Street of Blood

“It is not over praising, either, to call Burkett a genius; Street of Blood is awesome in its weaving together a complex story, a huge cast and a sense of magic that reminds one what theater ought to be -- and rarely is.

Street of Blood is brave, audacious, and vast in its intellectual and emotional, not to mention theatrical, scope. Its characters have a pulse, breath, temperature and complexity that could put "human" casts to shame...you know you're watching an original artist who lives dangerously.”

The Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Canada)

"Ronnie Burkett is a national treasure and Street of Blood should not be missed...you will be challenged, moved and, in a final redemptive scene, uplifted. If you've never seen one of his shows, be prepared to be astonished."

The Edmonton Sun (Edmonton, Canada)

Tinka’s New Dress

Tinka's New Dress is a triumph of magical imaginings where 37 meticulously crafted marionettes live in a totalitarian state, the Common Good, which shrinks art to propaganda and its opponents to waste. Conceived and actualised (including astonishing vocal technique) by Canadian Ronnie Burkett, Tinka finds timely metaphors in the Czech puppet shows pushed underground by the Nazis. Here libertarians and artists such as puppeteer Carl, sister Tinka and outrageous drag queen Morag risk their lives by doing shows satirising or defying state edicts.

Into this painful darkness Burkett injects artistic disobedience and irrepressible irreverence. The lovable Burkett and his puppets are as vital as food, sex and humour to enduring the crap that just keeps hitting the world. They make you weep and laugh and give you hope.”

The Australian (Melbourne, Australia 2002)

“…Ronnie Burkett is one of the world’s geniuses…. seeing his troupe every few years has just become a necessity of civilized theatregoing”

The Village Voice (New York, USA 1998)

The discussion will take place at UBC’s Robson Square campus. Attendance is free of charge, but please pre-register at info.talkofthetown@ubc.ca or phone 604-822-1700.

Biography

Ronnie Burkett was born in Lethbridge Alberta in 1957. His fascination with puppetry began at the age of 7 when he opened the World Book Encyclopedia to an entry on puppets. In 1986 he formed the Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes and began touring the world with his one-man shows that have garnered international acclaim. He has won awards for his work in Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, New York and Melbourne.

Links & Readings

Links

Ronnie in Brief

An entry on Ronnie Burkett in the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia.

Plays and Photos

This site has information on The Theatre of Marionettes productions, photos and reviews.

Puppet Master

A review of Street of Blood at Canoe.ca.

You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Strings

A review from the Guardian of Tinka’s New Dress.