Snuff Puppets

Snuff Puppet Skullies from Scarey

Snuff Puppets is an Australian puppet theatre company that was founded in 1992.

Originating in Canberra as part of Splinters Theatre of Spectacle,^[1] Snuff Puppets moved to a dusty warehouse in the industrial working class suburb of Footscray in Melbourne, and are now based in the historic Footscray Drill Hall. Snuff Puppets founding members were Pauline Cady and Simon Terrill and the current Artistic Director, Andy Freer.^[2]

The company tour nationally and internationally with both indoor and outdoor shows. Snuff Puppets combine the elements of puppetry, live music,^[3] visual and physical theatre. The company refers to its 'roaming acts' as 'interventions' as Snuff Puppets specialize in creating mayhem in the streets, playing with traffic and shoppers.

Subjects that are considered taboo are tackled, with 'a vulgar, irreverent, gratuitously violent and a comic sensibility'.^[4] Realtime Magazine wrote that Snuff Puppets have a 'commitment to pushing bad taste to its extreme'.

Snuff Puppet elements: ‘a blackly dangerous humour, an incisive political satire, shamelessly handmade visual aesthetic; populist, free, joyous conflagration of art, audience and artist.’^[4]

In 2015 Snuff Puppet's promotional video for the installation 'Everybody' ^[5] went viral, copies of the video have been reported as been viewed nearly 1 billion times.^[6]

The company has an interest in direct action on political issues. Over the years this had included appearances in dozens of political rallies and support for alternative energy, world peace, third world debt relief, gay rights and asylum seekers.

Snuff Puppets have toured over 25 countries, including; New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Romania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Local communities have worked with Snuff Puppets with dozens of large scale workshops undertaken in Australia, Denmark, England, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The troupe won the 'Spirit of the Fringe' award from Melbourne Fringe and the 'Adelaide Fringe 2006 Circus / Physical Theatre Award'.

The Victorian State Government support Snuff Puppets with annual Arts Funding.^[7]

Works In Rep

Snuff Puppet in Footscray

SHOWS:

• A Cruel Life
• Circus Ole - with acobat
• The Dancing Cow Show
• Everybody - Premiered Melbourne November 2012
• Everybody / Installation - Premiered Melbourne February 2015
• Forest In The Night
• Nyet Nyet's Picnic - with Australian Indiginious Artists
• Snuff Clubb
• Snuff Party
• Scarey
• Wedhus Gembel - with Padepokan Seni from Yogyakarta, Indonesia

WORKSHOPS:

• People's Puppet Projects
• Kidsnuff
• Snuff Skool - Premiered Hong Kong 2014

ROAMING:

• Bunyips - with Australian Indigenous Artists
• The Boom Family
• Cows and Butcher/Cowboy
• Elephant
• Human Body Parts
• Rhinocerus
• Seagulls
• Skullies
• Snail

Footnotes

External links

• Snuff Puppets

Coordinates: 37°47′55″S 144°53′17″E / 37.7986647°S 144.8879336°E / -37.7986647; 144.8879336