Workshop The DARKER Side of Puppetry

Renowned puppeteer Gavin Glover returns to Projeto Funicular with another exceptional workshop, this time focusing on manipulation and experimentation. A unique opportunity to expand creative boundaries and explore new languages by delving into the wildest, darkest, most visceral, and poetic dimensions of contemporary puppetry.

Co-founder of the legendary British company Faulty Optic, Gavin Glover is widely recognized for his singular aesthetic, where the grotesque, dark humor, micro cinema, and manipulation techniques unite to create unforgettable visual universes.

For: Puppeteers, actors, dancers, scenographers, directors, visual artists, performing arts professionals and students - no puppetry experience necessary
Number of participants: 12

Working schedule: Friday to Sunday from 10am to 1pm and 2.30pm to 6pm / 4 to 6 December
Working language: English

Fee: 50€
Deadline for applications: 2 December 2026

Selection in order of registration after payment. Once the application has been analysed, its acceptance will be communicated and the method of payment for the workshop will be indicated.

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INFO E REGISTRATIONS

The registration in the workshop is made by the duly filled application form in Google Forms or in doc file - in this case it must be send to: projectofunicular@gmail.com or atarumba@gmail.com

^{⇨ APPLICATION FORM: AT GOOGLE FORMS OR DOWNLOAD HERE}

New ideas, new tools.

In this new experimental workshop we will push the boundaries of puppetry as we know it and distort our fundamental assumptions of Puppet Theatre.

"We will discover fresh ideas, techniques and narratives about manipulation, agency and who really controls who.

Along the route we can re-imagine the role of the puppeteer, destroy some puppetry taboos, even witness how a puppet can be ‘alive’ without it being manipulated. We will visit the strange places inhabited by the more mysterious species of puppet eg - the Alter Ego, the Imaginary Friend and the DARKER worlds of the Imposter and the Effigy. We will encourage power games between puppet and performer and reveal some deeper and more surprising reasons to use a puppet onstage."

Suitable for all performers and puppeteers
 interested in approaching puppet theatre in a more personal way. 

"It's a strange place the DARKER side. It can be unnerving and dangerous but there is beauty and pathos and a lot of fun to be found there. It’s a very inspiring approach to puppetry."

These sessions will be a fun and safe place for experimentation and an opportunity to really dive deeply into these alternative performance methods. Techniques are geared towards performances for adult audiences but they can easily be adapted for use in all theatre types.


A workshop that takes puppetry into deeper, more complex territory to evoke more intense dramatic and narrative emotions.

DARKER side History

"Since Faulty Optic I have been exploring alternative ways to approach the use of puppets on stage. Attempting to draw away from the classical traditions of puppet theatre and having worked with many performers with a huge range of different skill sets, I realised that puppets can be animated in completely unexpected ways depending on who is doing the moving. For example an aerialist or a contemporary dancer will physically handle a puppet in a totally different way to an actor or puppeteer, a clown will find laughter when they continually drop a puppet on its head but seeing this, a puppeteer would probably run horrified out of the room !

So I have been developing new ideas of contemporary training which would give any performer the confidence and techniques to be able to incorporate a puppet into their own work. I am still learning and so still developing new ways to allow others to gain this insight.
My research has been helped enormously by collaborating and working with puppeteer and performer Toztli Godinez de Dios, puppeteer and choreographer Anne-Kathrin Klatt, actor and aerialist Ninon Noiret, and with generous contributions from MAX."

- Gavin Glover

A unique opportunity to learn from the knowledge and expertise of Gavin Glover.

BIO Gavin Glover is a puppeteer, actor, director, maker, and visual artist. At the forefront of experimental puppet theatre, Gavin has always explored the more unsettling side of contemporary puppetry. He is well known as a founder member of FaultyOptic Theatre of Animation who toured their surreal and unique adult puppet shows around the world since 1988 until their demise in 2011.

In 2011 he became a freelance Theatre Director, Designer and Maker specialising in puppetry and visual theatre for an adult audience, and founded PotatoRoom productions. Now he creates challenging performance works which explore the mixture of puppets, acting, clowning, video, movement and dance - in fact whatever is necessary to create a highly intricate and intriguing theatre.

Over the last years he has worked for the National Theatre of Scotland as Associate Designer on a number of productions and the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow in Scotland where he is now based, and collaborated with other artists ans institutions.

His recent short films have received critical acclaim from The Guardian, BBC’s Front Row and The Stage.

Gavin has taught at many different theatre schools in Europe and Canada, such as ESNAM - École Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette, Charleville- Mézières, Central School of Speech and Drama, London, Royal Holloway, University of London, London School of Puppetry, Vincent Dance Theatre, Sheffield, AQM Montréal or UQAM University of Quebec, among others.

At Projeto Funicular, he directed the workshops 'Video, Puppets and Objects in Performance' (2015) and 'Micro Cinema Theatre' (2023).

Gavin Glover is currently based both in Glasgow (UK) and Kraków (Poland).

_{^{FaultyOptic voted one of the creators of the 10 BEST PUPPETS in The Guardian.}}

^{"Brilliant puppet theatre maker Gavin Glover." - Sunday Herald Review}

^{"A series of astonishingly inventive puppets, designed and made by Gavin Glover." - The Telegraph}

Participant requirements

This workshop has been designed for professional theatre practitioners and drama students who are confident to work and share the theatre space with other performers on stage.
Participants will be asked to improvise and will need to wear suitable clothing for movement.

You are also welcome to bring a few objects, costumes, or puppets.

Disclaimer

Although the workshop will fun and inclusive, some participants may may find certain subjects uncovered during improvisations to be emotionally triggering.

Quotes from previous workshop participants:
"Gavin brought his legendary vision, stunning puppets, and thought-provoking style of teaching to the 'Dark Side of Puppetry' workshop.  I so appreciated his unusual perspective on both the role of the puppet as well as the puppeteer.  He created a wonderful space for experimentation - we were invited to walk the edge between the hilarious and terrifying to explore the reaches of puppetry's immense potential - and to invite onstage more of our own humanity as well."
- Raven Kaliana, director, Puppet (R)Evolution

"As a complete beginner in 'proper' puppetry, the workshop has been extremely valuable."

"Gavin's experience and insights have been fab and I feel I've come miles in an area
that previously felt out of reach. My confidence has really grown."
"Gavin's teaching style was relaxed and playful but backed up by a wealth of experience"

- Liverpool, UK

"Although we were exploring ‘the darker side’ of puppetry the atmosphere in the group was so warm, supportive and friendly that my inhibitions quickly melted away."

"One of the best workshops I attended."

- Atelier Libusin, Praga, Chéquia

"Learning something completely new is rare. This experience has been one of my most meaningful and I've participated in many different workshops since 2012."
- Stamsund, Norway

"The disrespect towards the puppets was shocking but in the best possible way!"

"I particularly enjoyed giving voices to different parts of the self using puppets and objects. I think this Darker Side of Puppetry really lends itself well to this kind of exploration."

- Moving Parts Festival, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK