Thursday, April 19, 2012

Nori Sawa's Fairy Tales

Fellow Chicagoans may want to check out Nori Sawa's Puppet Fairy Tales, coming in May as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival. Fairy tale puppet shows aren't new-neither are twisted fairy tales, these days, but this approach sounds fresh and intriguing:
"What really happened between Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf? How does The Little Mermaid really end? Solo puppeteer Nori Sawa delivers fresh takes on classic fairy tales. From Japan and based in Prague, Sawa uses puppets, masks, music, paper cutouts, and his body to tell beautiful and sometimes twisted versions of traditional tales. He also performs original fairy tales of his own based on elements of the natural world."

About Nori Sawa:
"Born in Japan but now based in the Czech Republic, Nori Sawa began his professional activities in Europe for the Cultural Ministry of the Japanese Government. He has performed and taught theater arts in more than 20 countries. In 1999, he was awarded the Franz Kafka Medal for his global artistic activities."

The video shows bits of Little Red Riding Hood. At first it seems almost too simplistic, but the laughter of the children in the background is clearly genuine. Maybe it takes a lot less technology and special effects to entertain children than we think, just creativity and imagination.

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