Theater Review - Primeval Puppets
Puppets get religion in Gilgamesh, Principia Discordia
In the hands of the gods, human beings are no more than puppets on a string, according to some theologies. So using bona fide puppets to recount religious epics and float new philosophies makes perfect sense.
Through the end of the month, two wildly imaginative artists from the Center for Puppetry Arts debut new works that consider mankind’s disreputable place in the universe. Michael Haverty offers an irreverent take on the epic Gilgamesh at PushPush Theater, while Jason Hines explores an alternative religion in Principia Discordia at Dad’s Garage Top Shelf space.
Freely adapting David Ferry’s translation of the Babylonian epic, Haverty’s Gilgamesh features contemporary references from both pop culture and Middle Eastern politics. A prologue finds parallels between tyrannical, Uzi-wielding King Gilgamesh and modern-day Iraq (although the title character isn’t literally meant to be Saddam Hussein). Gilgamesh televises his pronouncements, slaughters innocent civilians, but finds a noble counterpart in Enkidu, a Tarzan-like wild man with movements and puppet design literally like a gorilla. When Enkidu gently communes with gazelles at a watering hole, it could be a snapshot from the Garden of Eden.
Beer and sex corrupt Enkidu, accompanied by fertility rite/frat house humor, and his subsequent brawl with Gilgamesh evokes the WWF: One combatant takes a folding chair to the head. The pair reconciles after fighting and Gilgamesh’s cruel nature mellows out, but his pride brings down the wrath of the goddess Ishtar (Caroline Masclet). The puppeteers remain visible throughout the show and at times talk distractedly among themselves, the backstage-style chatter evoking the indifference of the deities.
It’s hard to identify with Gilgamesh’s title character, not because he’s a blue-skinned puppet, but because he’s a petty, unpredictable jerk whom Haverty gives a grating voice. As Gilgamesh increasingly suffers from the fear of death, the show’s plot and purpose become harder to grasp (it helps to be familiar with the original text). When Gilgamesh wanders lost in the darkness, a shadow puppet shows him destroying a modern city, complete with Godzilla sound effects. We soak up the symbolic rituals without always grasping their intent.
The show’s design constantly fascinates. Gilgamesh and Enkidu battle a cedar forest demon in a sequence told with colorful, two-dimensional panels, like tapestry art in motion. Surreal shadow puppetry recounts a flood narrative with intimations of Noah. Gilgamesh’s haunting musical compositions prove even more impressive. The show begins when the puppeteers, dressed in desert fatigues, file into the lobby and sing surprisingly effective hymns derived from the epic poem. Throughout Gilgamesh, musicians use alien-looking instruments to play Persian melodies that sound like the music of the heavens.
Beginning its two-week run April 22, Principia Discordia reportedly also includes unconventional hymns, the pre-Christian pantheon, noble apes and musings on the meaningless of life. Hines, creator of the punk puppet band Clobber, explores a different kind of anarchy by adapting the underground text Principia Discordia, a kind of humorous Bible of the irreligious Discordian church. According to Hines, the church has only two real commandments: Thou shalt be as funny as possible at all times, and thou shalt not eat hot dog buns on Friday.
Subtitled “How I Found Goddess and What I Did to Her When I Found Her,” Principia Discordia takes the form of a church service led by a Discordian archbishop (Lucky Yates). Vignettes explain its beliefs and introduce Eris, the goddess of discord (or chaos), who kicked off the Trojan War. Absurdist gags illustrate the pointlessness of human affairs: People turn into turkeys, exploding monkeys interrupt conversations, and the lament “King Kong Died For Your Sins” plays on the dis-accordion.
At first, marionettes and metaphysics might seem comically incompatible, but Gilgamesh and Principia Discordia both strive to enrich the spiritual lives of puppets. Sure, the casts of both shows can fit in shoeboxes, but their themes couldn’t be bigger.