Puppets from the World

The exhibition Puppets from the World - Wor(l)d Puppet Exhibitionset up at Gianduja House a Turin, represents the new museum route of the Cricket Marionette Foundation and offers the public a fascinating journey into the international figure theatre . Edited by Augusto Grilli e Mariarosa Scalero, the exhibition brings together a valuable selection of marionettes, puppets and shadows from the historic collection of the Grilli family, objects that have been carefully restored and returned to public use.

The route is conceived as a geographical, historical and artistic journey through the’Italy, the France, l'England, the Germany, the United States, up to the Chinato theIndia, at Vietnamto theIndonesia, at Nepal and the Burma . Among the most important pieces are the Italian puppets of the Wolves, a rare specimen of Giacomettathe evocative Pinocchio demountable resin and wadding - with an anatomically accurate heart - and the figures used in the work “The Elixir of Love” at Royal Theatre of Turin .

Also of particular interest are the puppets related to the Hindu tradition, inspired by epic poems Ramayana e Mahabharata, Burmese puppets depicting the tribe Kayan, the famous Vietnamese water puppets and the ancient 17th-century specimens in the collection . The title itself, with the play between World e Word, emphasises the dimension international and linguistic of figure theatre, highlighting how each puppet holds its own language and its own history.