Compassion sets the tone in Icelandic puppeteer’s contemplative vignettes

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Metamorphosis

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When: March 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Or: Center Stage at Surrey Town Hall

Tickets: from $25, tickets.surrey.ca

Bernd Ogrodnik did not bring puppets to Iceland. But the German expat helped popularize it.

“There were puppeteers, but there wasn’t such a strong tradition as in Germany or the Czech Republic,” said the 57-year-old, who first visited the country in 1982.

“It happened very late in Iceland. But Iceland has a very strong theater scene. So when I started doing adult puppetry, which was also quite new there, they took to it very quickly. Now we have adult audiences who come to see our family productions. »

Fascinated by wooden figures from a young age, Bernd co-founded the Icelandic Center for Puppetry Arts, served as master puppeteer at the National Theater of Iceland and toured the world with his own puppet shows, including Metamorphosis . The March 13 show marks the first time it has been performed in Canada.

On a black background, with only music for accompaniment, the 10 vignettes of the show are meant to be meditative/contemplative in nature.

“There’s a lot of quiet time, which balances our hectic lifestyles,” Ogrodnik said. “Since they (the stories) are all presented without words, they speak straight to the heart, unlike words that often go to that brain first. This metaphorical language of puppets has a very strong, very intimate power, which directly reaches the soul and the heart.

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If the stories are connected by anything, he says, it’s compassion. One story is about a mother, a daughter, and the “circle of life,” Ogrodnik said.

“In the beginning, a mother cradles her newborn baby. Both are getting old. At the end of the story, the child herself is an older woman and is cradling her mother.

As seen in the trailer, Ogrodnik’s creations have a touching vulnerability. He says that’s what makes them so relatable.

“There is a nurturing energy that enters the puppet and makes it come alive, and touches us on a very deep level,” he said. “Why does the puppet still work in our time when, at least on the screen, everything is possible? Gollum in The Lord of the Rings was so perfect. So how can the puppet still work? I think one of the reasons is that you can describe Gollum as “like real”. But it’s not real. You know that on some level you can never touch it. But the puppets are real.

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For Metamorphosis, Ogrodnik uses a variety of puppet types, from intricate puppets to wooden-carved rod puppets to characters created with silk scarves, his hands, and his feet. The mother/daughter piece is performed with masks (but not held in front of her face).

“My passion is definitely puppets, which I use for film and television work,” he said. “In theatre, I choose the style of puppetry based on what works best for the specific piece, and whether I’m a solo puppeteer or working with others. In Metamorphosis we apply a set of different puppet styles. It is therefore very versatile.

The same goes for stories that can be told with puppets. In Metamorphosis, one of the thumbnails contains adult content and the show is intended for audience members aged 16 and over.

“It’s a very strong medium,” he said. “I have seen the power of puppets, their effects, how you can solve all kinds of problems, from political problems to sexual abuse problems to social problems. When I have the opportunity to appear before a public, I have a very strong responsibility. I better take it seriously and think about how I use this opportunity in the best way possible. I make sure that my technique is correct and that I build the puppet in the best possible way so that the audience can understand what I want to convey.