Founded in 1997 Púca Puppets produces shows for both children and adults in various contexts – from Dublin Canals to Meeting House Square, in theatres and festivals from Ballymun to Bangkok.
Popularly Púca is mis-translated as ‘ghost’ but in fact a Púca, ‘Puck’ in English, is a mischievous spirit who delights in changing shape. Often appearing as a horse, but with the power of human speech, it tries to entice people onto its back to take them for a wild ride. We liked the implication that our hands could become any character though the medium of puppetry. Whether it be vegetables and kitchen tools in Stone Soup, or hand crafted puppets in the award winning Songs In Her Suitcase, where the late cabaret performer Agnes Bernelle ‘possessed’ puppets and masks to tell her life story.
Like the Púca we delight in letting each story or theme suggest the form used, whether shadow puppets for Róisín agus an Rón – ‘Róisín and the Seal’ where the dream-like images suit the idea of seals changing into people, or in Mary Mary’s Last Dance where the manipulators of the table-top puppet double up as her guardian angels. Like all theatre our work is very collaborative. In performance this is through the shared imaginations of audience and performer. In its making it is through artists devising together or through consultation with our prospective audience in various ways.
A Participative Arts practice is central to the work with many artist in residencies over the years, see the Workshop section for further information. Here you will also find examples of our puppet and prop making for other theatre companies
Púca was founded by Niamh Lawlor, Seán O’ Laoghaire and Helene Hugel. O’ Laoghaire left in ’98 and Hugel in 2003. They now run Glitter na Gig and Helium Arts In Health www.helium.ie respectively.
