Participants at a glove puppetry workshop held as part of the sixth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale explored storytelling through movement, expression, and metaphor, presenting short performances that drew laughter and reflection from audiences.
Titled Hands that Tell Stories, the workshop was facilitated by puppeteer Anurupa Roy and held at the Art Room, Pavilion, Bastion Bungalow in Fort Kochi. The sessions culminated in puppet performances that addressed themes such as love, friendship, freedom, restrictions, gossip, care, and the human relationship with nature.
Working in pairs, participants animated glove puppets representing human, animal, and abstract forms. Performances relied on subtle gestures — eyebrow movements, smiles, scowls, and shifts in posture — achieved through finger and hand manoeuvres, bringing the traditional theatre form to life through minimalist expression.
The workshop was conducted over two-and-a-half days at the Ala Centre for Culture and Alternative Education, followed by a public presentation at the biennale venue. Participants from diverse age groups and professional backgrounds collaborated to design, create, and animate their puppets.
Speaking about the workshop, Roy said glove puppetry demands discipline and coordination, noting that participants worked intensively to script and stage short performances within a limited time frame. She also highlighted the collaborative nature of the process, where learning extended beyond performance to include puppet design and fabrication.
Roy, who founded the Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust in 1998, said training remains central to the organisation’s work. Katkatha operates as a touring puppet theatre company and conducts annual masterclasses and residential incubation programmes, including international collaborations.
During the workshop, all 26 participants, including Ala founder Manu Jose, staged a final performance. Jose described puppetry as an art form that invites audiences to suspend disbelief and reconnect with childlike curiosity. Several participants, including children and first-time puppeteers, said the process was challenging but rewarding, particularly the physical discipline required to animate the puppets effectively.
Others noted that while puppet-making involved materials such as thermocol and papier-mâché, the greater challenge lay in synchronising hand movements to convey emotion and narrative. Theatre practitioners and professionals from non-arts backgrounds alike described the workshop as demanding yet enriching.
The workshop highlighted puppetry’s capacity to communicate layered meanings through simple forms, reaffirming its relevance as a performative and pedagogical art within contemporary cultural spaces.
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