Chicago Puppet Fest presents:
– The New York Times‘ Critic’s Pick
In this stunning transformation of Nobel Laureate J.M. Coetzee’s Booker Prize-winning novel by the same name, a humble man finds solace in nature as he takes an epic journey through a mythical, war-torn landscape. In search of his mother’s ancestral home, he finds strength in his own humanity and a profound connection to the earth. With puppets by Handspring Puppet Company, known for building the War Horse and Little Amal, Cape Town’s Baxter Theatre brings us a new level of exquisite bunraku-style puppet theater.
Dates/Times:
Wednesday, January 22 at 7 pm
Friday, January 24 at 3 pm + 7:30 pm
Saturday, January 25 at 3 pm + 7:30 pm
Sunday, January 26 at 3 pm
Location: Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave.
Cost: $48/$40 students & seniors
Ages: 12 and up
Running Time: 115 mins (no intermission)
ADA Accessible? Yes
Baxter Theatre and Handspring Puppet Company bring a powerful adaptation of Coetzee’s Life and Times of Michael K, blending South African culture with profound visual storytelling. Known worldwide for their expressive puppetry in War Horse, Handspring uses intricate, lifelike puppets to illustrate complex human emotions and societal themes. This year, their performance offers festival goers an emotionally charged journey into resilience and identity.
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The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival advances the art of puppetry by presenting sophisticated programs vital to the cultural life of Chicago. Engaging and inspiring the largest and most diverse audiences for puppetry possible, the Festival is the biggest event dedicated to puppetry in North America and traditionally offers more than 100 activities annually including performances, workshops, artist instensives, free neighborhood events and symposia to audiences up to 14,000 over 11 days each January. The organization is also home to other key initiatives, including the Chicago Puppet Studio and Chicago Puppet Lab, that nurture the development of puppeteers and deepen the field locally, nationally and internationally with the ultimate goal of promoting peace, equality, mutual understanding, and justice locally and globally.
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