VIENNA STATE OPERA
CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON
THE WINTER'S TALE

November 18- December 20, 2024

With The Winter’s Tale, based on William Shakespeare’s tragicomedy of the same name, the British star choreographer Christopher Wheeldon has created a modern ballet about second chances that tells a tense story of the most fundamental human emotions surrounding jealousy, revenge, love and redemption:

"A story of forgiveness and transformation, ultimately proving what we are all capable of: cruelty and compassion, shades of light and shades of darkness”, so Wheeldon.

Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon
Musical Director: Christof Knoncz
Silk Design: Basil Twist

More Info & performance dates: HERE

JAPAN SOCIETY
Bunraku Backstage

October 4, 2024—January 19, 2025

Admission Information
Thursday–Sunday - 11am–7 pm
Free First Fridays, 7-9 pm
*Closed on major holidays

Tickets
$12 nonmembers
$10 students and seniors

Alongside the live bunraku performances held at Japan Society this fall, Bunraku Backstage offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes of the theater. Bunraku, a dramatic art integrating performances of skilled puppetry, shamisen music, and narration, has evolved since the early 17th century in Japan and is recognized by UNESCO as a “masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.” Showcasing actual working puppets, costumes, props, and instruments on loan from the National Bunraku Theatre, Osaka, in celebration of their 40th anniversary, this exhibition unveils the collaboration that goes into staging a bunraku production. Unexpected multimedia installations by contemporary artists, all of which re-interpret and revive the artistic language of bunraku, explore the theater’s ongoing inspiration and influence.

More Info & TIickets: HERE

SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE FILM EVENT

Hopkins Center for the Arts
Loew Auditorium, Dartmouth
November 17, 2024
Sunday 1:00 pm
Free Event

In 2018 Twist revisited his legendary masterpiece in its original home, the HERE Arts Center in NYC with live accompaniment by the virtuosic Christopher O'Riley playing the exquisite Liszt transcription for concert piano and in a significantly larger aquarium. Symphonie floated and swirled for a critically lauded and sold-out six-month run, fortunately allowing the finest performances to be captured in front of, behind, and inside the 1,000-gallon water tank by Twist and director Bobby Sheehan of Working Pictures.

The resulting film is not just a document of a performance but rather an artistic expression in its own right. A delight for anyone who enjoys puppetry, it weaves imagery as seen by the audience with the unseen backstage ballet of the puppeteers and the emotional synergy of the live musical performance.

More Info & TIickets: HERE

THE NUTCRACKER

THE JOFFREY BALLET
December 6–28, 2024

CHOREOGRAPHY: Christopher Wheeldon
MUSIC: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Lyric Opera House, Chicago

Experience magic this holiday season with two-time Tony Award®-winner Christopher Wheeldon's 'The Nutcracker’.

On a magical Christmas Eve, mere months before the opening of Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair, Marie and her mother, a sculptress creating the fair’s iconic Statue of the Republic, partake in a festive celebration with a surprise visit from the mysterious Great Impresario. That evening, after awakening to an epic battle between Toy Soldiers and The Rat King, Marie is swept away by a Nutcracker Prince on a whirlwind journey to the dreamlike fairgrounds of the World’s Columbian Exposition with sprawling attractions represented by countries from around the globe.

More Info: HERE

BOOK OF MOUNTAINS AND SEAS

January 26 -28, 2024
April 6-7, 10-14, 19-21, 2024

"This is splendid puppetry, imbued with poignancy and the pulsing, drum-driven drama of mythic quest." New York Times, USA Chicago & West Coast Premieres.

Book of Mountains and Seas is a work of vocal-theater for 12 singers, two percussionists, and puppeteers. It is inspired by the ancient Chinese compilation of early myths of the same title, which was first transcribed in 4th century B.C. Over the years, these mythological stories have become part of Chinese written and oral history, shifted and reshaped to match contemporary times. Book of Mountains and Seas is a 21st-century adaptation through the lens of our modern-day relationship with the natural world. The creation stories conjure a sense of respect and awe for the environment, and the water stories challenge us to be good stewards of the natural resources we have been given.

More Info & TICKETS HERE

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO
DECEMBER 1, 2023 - MARCH 23, 2024

Winner of six Olivier Awards and five WhatsOnStage Awards, this “utterly beguiling” (The Stage) and “jaw-dropping” (Metro) staging of the celebrated 1988 animated feature film is brought to you by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Executive Producer Joe Hisaishi.

For a look into the large scale but extremely intimate world of the puppetry: CLIICK HERE

More Info & TICKETS HERE

PUPPETS IN THEATRE - BRINGING NEW LIFE TO THE STAGE

Tue 13 Feb 2024

Basil Twist and Phelim McDermott bring extraordinary creatures to life on stages. They are known for using innovative puppet techniques, from wind and water to newspapers and sellotape. Their current work on My Neigbour Totoro creates magic on the Barbican's stage. Cheryl Henson facilitates a conversation. Discover what makes puppets and imagination so effective in live theatre today.

More Info HERE

A TWISTY INTERGALACTIC SPECTACLE

May 17 -19 / Fri-Sun
May 23 - June 2 / Thurs-Sun

Something spacey is coming this way from the great mind of internationally acclaimed puppetry artist, Basil Twist! He returns to Hip Pocket for a one-of-a-kind intergalactic Twist-ian experience.

Created by Basil Twist

Music by Joe Rogers

More Info: HERE

HERE’S
WE CAN BE HEROES GALA 2024
June 3, 2024

We can be heroes, forever and ever. What d’you say? Mark your calendars for our 30th Anniversary Gala, happening right in our home

Performing artists include Heather Christian, Queen Esther, Abigail Gampel, David Greenspan, Aya Ogawa, Paul Pinto, Basil Twist, and more. Electrifying surprises to come.

More Info: HERE

JAPAN SOCIETY
CONTEMPORARY PUPPET THEATER

Wednesday, September 11 at 7:30 pm—Followed by a Private
September 12 at 7:30 pm—Followed by an artist Q&A
September 13 -September 15 at 2:30 pm** & 7:30 pm
September 17 at 7:30 pm
September 18 at 2:30 pm** & 7:30 pm
September 19 at 7:30 pm
Limited to 75 per performance. (Seating: General Admission)

Dogugaeshi, the award-winning phenomenon by genius puppeteer Basil Twist, is back! Born as a Japan Society commission, this ever-innovative piece now celebrates its 20th anniversary. Enter a mystical world, where a mysterious white fox shepherds you through past and present Japan. Inspired by a disappearing traditional stage mechanism from Japan’s Awa region called dogugaeshi, Twist has created fusuma screens with stunning painted imagery that dance, slide, flip, conceal and reveal to pull audiences deeper into a brain-bending optical illusion.

Dogugaeshi is a cross-cultural collaboration with master shamisen player and experimental musician Yumiko Tanaka, whose multi-layered music collage embraces everything from traditional tunes to popular songs.

“A gorgeous… cavorting… dance… it will come to you as far as you let it in.”—The New York Times

*New York-based shamisen musician Yoko Reikano Kimura will perform for the matinee shows. Yumiko Tanaka will perform for all evening shows.

More Info & TIickets: HERE

JAPAN SOCIETY
BACKSTAGE CONVERSATIONS

Friday, October 4, 2024
1:00 pm
In-Person Event
Free Event

In celebration of the opening of the fall gallery exhibition Bunraku Backstage (October 4, 2024—January 19, 2025), art historian Dr. Reiko Tomii will facilitate a conversation with contemporary artist Yuichiro Tamura and puppeteer and theater artist Basil Twist. The two artists, whose works appear in the exhibition, will discuss their engagement with bunraku theater and the importance of collaboration in their creativity. The three speakers will reflect upon the ‘operations’ at work behind the scenes of their practices.

More Info & TIickets: HERE