In the dark of winter, magic and mystery arrives in Chicago in the form of objects that tell stories. In multiple venues from the South to the North side, from neighborhoods to the formal Studebaker Theatre on Michigan Avenue, a truly international group of the world’s finest artists shows us their best stuff and what fantastic stuff it is! Do yourself a favor and block out late January 2026 right now in your planner and resolve to partake next year if you did not get your fill this go around. Pro tip: go to https://chicagopuppetfest.org/ and sign up to get their newsletter: the organization has events throughout the year, and they put out the calendar at the end of the previous year– as soon as tickets are on sale you are going to want to jump on purchases of the better known groups because they do sell out. And if you want to inspire yourself because it's still winter right now, check out the archived Volkenburg Puppetry Symposium panels here:
This year's fest has wrapped and the afterglow continues. This year included an overflowing abundance of astounding works for all ages, and sizes and locations of venues. And so many wondrous artists! One of the perks of gathering so many artists from around the world is some afterhours creativity, and Chicago’s NOT FOR CHILDREN late night puppet cabaret at Links Hall is always packed and fun. If they sell out you can watch the livestream. You can see what I mean by going to the Rough House livestream archive: https://www.youtube.com/@roughhouse1272/streams
You can also rub shoulders with the artists at the Puppet Hub, a pop up cafe on the 4th floor of the landmark creative space that is the Fine Arts Building at 410 South Michigan Avenue. On your way up the Victorian era stairs poke your head into the Exile in Bookville Bookstore which has to have the best bookstore view in all of Chicago as well as a carefully curated selection of reads. The Puppet Hub always has an exhibition where you can see the objects that come to life up close and figure out just how they make these bits of art materials perform. This year the Hub featured Lessons in Puppetry where you could physically interact with pieces by our local treasure Myra Su, and Puppetry Under the Sea, specially commissioned puppets for the Drury Lane production of Little Mermaid. I have not yet gotten over to the Chicago Cultural Center to see Potential Energy: Chicago Puppets Up Close because it is up until April 6th– it features a controversial spectacle puppet that has been seen in recent protests and members of the City Council have asked for it to be taken down because they perceive it as antisemitic.
My journey through this edition of the festival began with the France/Norway based Plexus Polaire’s Dracula: Lucy’s Dream at the Studebaker Theatre, a darkly impressionistic exploration of Bram Stoker’s iconic tale from the female victim’s perspective. Dracula has a demonic, sometimes spider like, parasitical appearance, and there is a fascination and eroticism in the portrayal of the attraction and repulsion which hints at compulsion, seduction and an icky power dynamic. This 65 minute work features life size bunraku puppets which require 3 puppeteers. Director Yngvild Aspeli is a fest favorite and her work is always compelling and visually unforgettable. The company was also a featured workshop artist: along with the performances, many of the artists and companies offer workshops during the fest.
I headed northward to the Biograph Theatre to see the sold out The Cabinet, a reimagining of local maestro Frank Maugeri’s signature 2010 miniature piece now rendered for a larger audience and stage. Maugeri has assembled a who’s who of eminent Chicago experimental talents to rework this horror fantasy based on the 1920’s film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: the script is by Mickel Maher and music is by Mark Messing. It is an absolutely compelling and frightening hour that is not for the faint hearted. Watching puppet murder is stunning. The Cabinet is a taught tale perfectly rendered and Chicago audiences are in luck: The Cabinet will have a run in town this fall: do not miss it.
The Fest has been bringing in rare and important films: this year’s selection was Iniskim: Return of the Buffalo a moving documentary about an immersive puppet-lantern performance that celebrates the return of the buffalo as a result of the Buffalo Treaty where 40 Tribes and First Nations have signed on to restore bison to tribal lands. A collaboration between tribal elders, community members and Canadian puppet artists, notably Pete Balkwill who did a talkback after the screening and also appeared on the symposium, the performance and resultant film demonstrates the power of collective performance rituals. The film only played once at the Studebaker, but it is reported to be making the rounds of film festivals and may be available for streaming in the future.
Week 2, I was back at the Studebaker Theatre for the powerful J.M Coetzee’s Life and Times of Michael K, a collaboration between South Africa’s Baxter Theatre and Handspring Puppet Company based on the 1983 Booker Prize winning novel about a young man born disabled in apartheid and how he struggles and finds meaning in a life fraught with troubles. Tragic and hopeful, the show utilizes life sized bunraku puppets to tell the story. Using puppets adds an essential poignancy to the performance that would not have felt as achingly devastating with live actors. Baxter director Lara Foot and Handspring director Basil JR Jones are iconic artists in their respective companies, and bringing them together has given birth to an important work that talks about essential humanity. This piece shows that puppets can be almost more human than humans. Having three puppeteers collaborating to make a character move through its life offers a sense of compassion and community. Michael K. touched my heart.
The Dance Center of Columbia College in the South Loop was the home of a truly astonishing work: Berlin based Maraña presented Organismo, an aerial dance piece that featured the live music of Andres Aravena and an enormous crocheted set by artistic director Paula Riquelme Obenes. The wool in the set dances too: there are pointy anemones and tentacles that are swallowed by orifices, and then human body parts emerge like some kind of plant. The set spits out bodies and parts and also ingests them. The walls breathe, they glow, they change color. Bodies with giant wigs of yarn bop and swing, and the music makes you want to dance with them. It is hypnotic and trippy, and like nothing you have ever seen. Put this company on your radar. Part monumental art piece, part performance art, part modern circus, you cannot ever miss this company if it's anywhere near you.
The Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival is what makes winter here phenomenal in every sense of the word: it is an embarrassment of riches we cannot take for granted. There was a time when international line ups and fests were common but the free flow of artists and ideas has become more difficult in the last decades: it requires ninja level administrative skills, and a dedicated board and donors and ardent ticket buying fans. If you did not get to see any of this year’s offerings, do better next year. And I will see you there!
For more information or to sign up for information go to https://chicagopuppetfest.org/
For more reviews go to https://www.theatreinchicago.com
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