Bambalina offers an entertaining puppet show
Bambalina offers an entertaining puppet show
Every country has its puppetry traditions. In Indonesia, we have all kinds of wayang performances. But the Bambalina Titelles puppetry troupe isn't what you expect.
Retelling the classic story of Don Quixote, they mix the puppets and the puppet masters as a whole modern sphere of puppetry history.
Don Quixote was written by Miguel de Cervantes in two volumes. It is the story of Don Quixote, a middle-aged bookworm, who reads too many books of chivalry and drowns himself in the stories.
With his obsessive reading, he turns crazy and wants to become a knight. He can't separate reality from the stories he has read.
He then goes on an adventure with Sancho Panza, a farmer, as his companion. He turns a peasant girl into Dulcinea, a princess who needs to be saved.
With a simple setting, but quite a dark, gripping atmosphere and music to match, Don Quixote isn't really suitable for children.
The two puppet masters dress in black. The set is only a table, but with the play of lights from the candles and haunting music, Don Quixote is a very lively and vibrant performance.
The puppet masters also allow almost no boundary between themselves and the puppets.
One of the best scene is Don Quixote fighting against the windmills that he thinks are giants.
It all blends so nicely into a whole adventuresome show. It has all been carefully staged and well-mastered by the puppet masters. Flawless is the precise term for it. This show was also a part of prestigious Edinburgh International Theatre Festival.
Bambalina Titelles is a unique Valencian puppetry company. The puppet show is an intimate portrait that recreates the spirit of Cervantes's immortal work.
They are able to communicate to all different kinds of audiences despite all the different languages. Gestures are substituted for words, and it works out really into perfection.
Bambalina Titelles started in the early '80s. After 10 years of hard labor, they have made it to many festivals across Spain, Europe and America.
Organized by Instituto Cervantes (Spanish Cultural Institute), which just opened a few months ago, the Bambalina Titelles Puppet Show marked the beginning of Spanish cultural week in Jakarta.