The Daisy Theatre

Ronnie Burkett, The Daisy Theatre, Photo Vanessa Rigaux

Centaur Theatre

49th Season

The Daisy Theatre

Quebec Premier 

Created and performed by Ronny Burkett

NOTE: For adults ONLY, 16 years and over.

February 20 - March 24, 2018

A world renowned puppeteer Ronnie Burkett makes his Centaur Theatre debut with over 40 personally hand-crafted marionettes. This is Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes' 13th production which follows previous international successes.

The audience will be surprised by the skill and mastery of the puppet manipulation and impersonations techniques displayed by Rony Burkett. Every puppet has a distinct personality and a unique voice, all their specific characteristics are portrayed and reproduced without skipping a beat. Spectators will also appreciate the puppets' many detailed movements and expressions, and the dexterity with which they are conjured. The vocal ranges and volumes Burkett projects are quite impressive. One only marvels how he manages not to over strain or injure his voice, regardless of the agility and diapason of his vocal cords.

Burkett puppets are the classical string-manipulated marionettes. Unlike some other puppeteers who prefer to remain hidden to the public, Burkett lets the audience to observe how he controls and animates his puppets from above. In this way, not only his puppets but he himself becomes a personage to look at, especially since he interacts directly with the audience, becoming the key character of the show he stages. At some instances, the puppets appear as a pretext to display his vocal and gestural choreography and to express, with an ironic twist, his take on many issues, mundane and political.    

Ronnie Burkett, Old Lady, Photo Vanessa Rigaux

The situation vignettes performed by the puppets were all written by Burkett himself. Yet he does not strictly adhere to any text but rather improvises according to his own and/or audiences's reactions and mood. Although he has a great number of puppets, he stages only a few such vignettes, and in the course of the evening he either chooses himself what he is going to present next, or asks the audience which particular personage they would like to see. This makes each performance quite unique.

Recognized as one of Canada’s foremost theatre artists, Ronnie Burkett has been credited with creating some of the world’s most elaborate puppetry. He designs and constructs all of his marionettes in a combination of hand-moulded papier maché pulp and hand-carved wood. Defining characteristics of each puppet, such as eye glasses, wrist watches, hats, and shoes, are fastidiously crafted with intricate detail. Though he works on several puppets concurrently, Mr. Burkett approximates that each one takes six weeks to make and an entire show roughly one year to mount, from concept to opening night.

Ronnie Burkett, Jolie Jolie, Photo Vanessa Rigaux

CREATIVE TEAM

Creator and Performer - Ronnie Burkett

Marionette, Costume and Set Design by Ronnie Burkett

Music and Lyrics and Sound Design by John Alcorn

Production Manager / Artistic Associate – Terri Gillis

Stage Manager – Crystal Salverda

Crystal Salverda, Ronnie Burkett and Eda Holmes at the Opening Night
Photo Nadia Slejskova

Click on images to enlarge them.

For more information, visit the Centaur Theatre website.

Sunday Chat-ups

Sunday, February 25 @ 12:30pm

FREE

Join Lucinda Chodan, Montreal Gazette’s editor in chief as she speaks with designer, director and puppeteer Clea Minaker.

In collaboration with the Montreal Gazette

Talk-Backs

Thursday, March 8

Following the performance.

FREE

Audiences are invited to stay 

after the show for a lively Q&A session