Wakka Wakka (Norway-United States)

Dead as a Dodo takes us on an overwhelming journey into the depths of the kingdom of the dead, where two skeleton friends, a dodo and a boy, scavenge for bones to replace their own decaying remains before they vanish forever. This does not sit well with the King of Bones and his selfish daughter, who hoard every femur for themselves. One day, the impossible happens: the Dodo is miraculously sprouting feathers! This event launches them on a quest to return the dodo to the land of the living, sparking a wave of transformation that shatters the established order. The two friends must fight to stay together as they are swept into the heart of an epic battle between life and death.

With moments evoking Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas or the short film The Skeleton Dance, Dead as a Dodo weaves its magic to lead us into the world of shimmering projections and unique puppetry that defines Wakka Wakka’s artistry.

^{"These people may be geniuses." - The New York Times}

^{"Venturing to Fantastical Universes With a Dodo and More (...).}

^{Dead as a Dodo it’s a story that is told gorgeously, our critic writes (...).}

^{From a formal perspective, it is among the most ceaselessly inventive pieces of theater I have seen in the past year.}

^{The show (...) is as morbidly poetic as The Nightmare Before Christmas. It immerses the audience in a fantastical universe - at one point, plunging underneath the fiery river Styx - thanks to outlandishly inventive puppetry, projections, lighting and sound and original music.}

^{The hell we are in may be of our own making: Dead as a Dodo concludes Wakka Wakka’s eco-minded trilogy, following Animal R.I.O.T. and The Immortal Jellyfish Girl, and is concerned with the evolution of the natural and human worlds. The bigger story here is concerned with new beginnings, and it is told gorgeously.}

^{- Elisabeth Vincentelli, The New York Times}

^{"In January there was the exhilarating whimsy of Dead as a Dodo, an existentialist puppet musical about a boy and a dodo wandering the underworld looking for bones (...) The musical tempered the weight of its heartbreaking core with the glittering visual wonder of the show’s expressive ensemble storytelling.The songwriter Thor Gunnar Thorvaldsson provided a small, lovely collection of tunes that outstripped much of the Broadway playlists this year, but even the score played second fiddle to the landscape of projections and puppetry." - Slant Magazine, The Best Theater of 2025}

^{"Spectacular (...). Wakka Wakka has been astounding audiences for years with innovative stories and mind-blowing puppetry. Dead as a Dodo will blow your mind too (...). One eye-popping scene follows another, and the show’s 80 minutes fly by." - Pete Hempstead, Theatermania}

^{"Miraculous puppets and macabre whimsy.} 

^{As a piece of craft, Dead as a Dodo (...) is sheer magic. Its puppetry, designed by Waage, of course, provokes wonder at every turn and brings new creatures and tricks every scene: A lonely skeleton boy boogieing with an equally skeletal dodo. An almost life-size mammoth rising up from the floor. A giant fish that reveals itself in luminescent color when we dip underwater (...).}

^{Which, again, is enormously engaging to watch and listen to and marvel at (...). - Loren Noveck, Exeunt - NYC}

BIO

Wakka Wakka is a critically acclaimed non-profit visual theatre company based in New York City and Oslo, founded by co-artistic directors Kirjan Waage and Gwendolyn Warnock. Their mission is to push the boundaries of the imagination by creating works that are bold, unique and unpredictable.

Since 2001, Wakka Wakka has created and produced 13 original works of theater which have toured extensively throughout the US and abroad. With subject matter ranging from the financial crisis in Iceland (SAGA), to international consumerism and human rights (Made in China), to genetic manipulation and the survival of mankind far into the future (The Immortal Jellyfish Girl), the company transcends the everyday by posing questions about humanity through the lens of comedic fantasy, devising visually thrilling work which incorporates puppetry, object manipulation, masks, video art, and original music.

Wakka Wakka has collaborated with the Oslo Philharmonic, Riksteatret, the Arctic Philharmonic, Animando Studios, and MiNensemblet among others. Dead as a Dodo is Wakka Wakka’s fifth major coproduction with Nordland Visual Theater.

Wakka Wakka has been honored with an Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award, and two UNIMA Citations of Excellence.  Additionally, the company’s work has won awards in China and Croatia and has been nominated for four Drama Desk Awards, a Helen Hayes Award and a Hewes Design Award.

After meeting at the Jacques Lecoq International Theater School in Paris, Gwendolyn and Kirjan founded Wakka Wakka Productions in 2001. They have led the company as Co-Artistic Directors, garnering international succees and critical acclaim. The company has recieved an Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award, and mutiple UNIMA Citations of Excellence.
Gwendolyn Warnock is the founder and Artistic Director of Wakka Wakka Productions. With her leadership, and that of her partner, Kirjan Waage, Wakka Wakka has garnered international success and critical acclaim, including an Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award, and multiple UNIMA Citations of Excellence. In addition, Gwendo- lyn has been awarded Creative Capital and Map Fund artist awards, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Director of a Play. She is committed to creating unique, original works of theater that examine contemporary topics through a critical lens. Gwendolyn has been an artist in residence at Princeton University, Dart- mouth University, the Eugene O'Neil Theater Center, Robert Wilson's Watermill Center, and Nordland Visual Theatre. This spring she will be an artist in residence and visiting professor at Nord University in Verdal, Norway. In addition she has taught countless workshops at universities and cultural institutions both in the U.S. and abroad. Gwendolyn made her studies at Northwestern University, and at the Jacques Lecoq International Theater School.

Kirjan Waage was born in Haugesund, Norway. He is a graduate of the University of Bologna (Dettore) and the two year program at Jacques Lecoq International Theater School. While in Paris, he began crafting stuffed animals and from there expanded to puppets. His puppets have become an integral part of the theatre of Wakka Wakka. Waage is a founding member and co-artistic director of Wakka Wakka. In addition to making the puppets, he has performed in, co-written and co-directed all of the company's past works. He leads The Immortal Jellyfish Girl as its undiscernable narrator, Mr. Fox. Outside of Wakka Wakka, he has designed and built puppets for the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, The Arctic Philharmonic, Riksteatret, Oslo Nye Theatre and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Kirjan is also a published cartoonist.

_CREDITS

_{Written by: Gwendolyn Warnock, Kirjan Waage, with help from the Ensemble Direction: Gwendolyn Warnock, Kirjan Waage Puppet design and construction: Kirjan Waage Original music and sound design: Thor Gunnar Thorvaldson Video: Erato Tzavara Lighting design: Daphne Agosin Projection touring design: Pelham Johnston, OBLSK interactive Touring light design: Scott Monnin Set and costume design: Gwendolyn Warnock, Kirjan Waage Puppeteers: Lei Lei Bavoil, Alexandra Bråss, Hanna Magrete Muir, Sigurd Rosenberg, Peter Russo, Anna Soland, Kirjan Waage, Mairead Kohler, Olivia Zerphy, Thea Lekang Prop and additional puppet making: Lei-Lei Bavoil, Alexandra Bråss, Frida Vige Helle, Dorothy James, Andy Manjuck, Hanna Magrete Muir, Jack Markussen, Sigurd Rosenberg, Peter Russo, Marie Skogvang Stork, Anna Soland, Gwendolyn Warnock Production: Gwendolyn Warnock, Thomas Gustafson, Kirjan Waage Associate lighting design: Gillian Hanemayer Additional prop, painting and sewing: Rosalie Arends, Cornelia Waage, Hallie Perlman Photography: David Zadig, Erato Tzavara, Richard Termine, Adam Kissick, David Zelig Coproduction: Nordland Visual Theatre, Nord Universitet, Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival Support: Arts Council Norway, The Jim Henson Foundation, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FFUK, Sea-Cargo AS}

_{www.wakkawakka.org}