A Review of «The Routledge Companion to Puppetry and Material Performance»

Henryk Jurkowski

Abstract

This review presents The Routledge Companion to Puppetry and Material Performance as a valuable publication on puppet theatre, and a selection of papers delivered at the Puppetry and Postdramatic Performance International Conference on Performing Objects in the 21 Century held at the University of Connecticut in April 2011. The book is edited by John Bell, Director of the Ballard Institute Museum of Puppetry, Claudia Orenstein, Associate Professor of the Hunter College Theatre Department, and Dossia N. Posner, theatre studies professor at Northwestern University. The volume contains texts by twenty-eight authors divided into three parts: 1. Theory and Practice, 2. New Dialogues with History and Tradition, 3. Contemporary Investigations and Hybridizations. The editors declare that it presents for the most part work of English-language scholars who look at the puppet and material performance from the viewpoints of philosophy, history and theatre. The book stands out not only because of the varied subject matter but also because of its methodological diversity. It is proof that contemporary puppet theatre and material performance attract outstanding researchers and intellectuals who deftly apply methods developed by contemporary psychology, philosophy, anthropology and theatre studies. .