Saga
From the production Saga, collaboration between Wakka Wakka Productions and Nordland Visual Theatre
Saga is based on real events in Iceland – the banking crisis that began in 2008, and people’s greed during the ensuing financial crisis.
Gwendolyn Warnick was responsible for the production’s concept, set design, costume design, and mask design and construction. She also wrote the script together with Kirjan Waage, and they were joint directors of the production. Kirjan Waage was responsible for the design and construction of the puppets.
The target audience for the production was adults.
The world premiere of Saga was given at Nordland Visual Theatre in December 2012, and the USA premiere was on 10 March 2013. The Oslo premiere was at Riksteatret in Nydalen on 20 February 2014.
The production was supported by: the Norwegian Arts Council, Nordland County Council / Nordland Visual Theatre, New York State Council for the Arts, The Eugene O’Neill Center and The Jim Henson Foundation.
This article describes the puppets in the production of the same title.
Photographs from the exhibition of puppets at the Andrew Edlin Gallery in New York (2014) are also registered under the production Saga.
Information
(Objekt ID 130179)| Object type | Puppet |
| Production date | December 2012 |
| Category | Rod puppet |
| Themes | Adult |
| Size | Various sizes, on average about 60cm |
| License | Nordland Visual Theatre and Wakka Wakka Productions (USA). |
Teaterfigur
Teaterfigurer, bedre kjent som teaterdukker, har spilt på norske scener i generasjoner, til stor glede for publikum i alle aldersgrupper.
The programme for the production gives the following information:
"Saga was originally meant to be an Icelandic saga with vikings as the main characters; but after a while our own time made its presence felt, popping up like puppets out of a case. We travelled to Iceland and interviewed many people, using their stories as inspiration. We realised that our fictive story could have happened, and that it can happen again, says Kirjan Waage (...) Saga is also a protest story - a story about what happens to a family when society’s safety net fails, the whole country goes bankrupt and there is revolution, continues Waage."
The performers on stage were: Kirjan Waage, Andrea Osp Karlsdottír, Andy Manjuck, Gwendolyn Warnock/Elisabeth Hara, Conan Magee, Fergus Walsh. Voice-over: Gudjon Thorsteinn Palmarsson.
Sources: Programme for Saga; Nordland Visual Theatre: www.figurteatret.no/produksjoner
Donated by: Nordland Visual Theatre, 29.08.2022.
Saga was based around real events, and this was also mirrored in the puppets’ detailed clothing: patterned, knitted hats, scarves, padded jackets and other kinds of warm outerwear, along with trousers and shoes. The puppets were clothed for the cold Icelandic winter.
It appears that the clothes are made out of normal clothing materials used in cold climates: wool for hats and scarves, woollen and padded textiles for the coats and jackets.
The faces of the puppets have caricatured personal characteristics in the photographs. The heads were probably carved out of styrofoam or another mouldable material, strengthened and covered with leather or an elastic fabric. The puppets had protruding eyes, clear nasal profiles and large mouths, which could probably be moved.
The photographs from this production are very informative.
The above description is based on photographs.
It appears that the puppets are constructed in several different ways. Some of the puppets had mouths that could be moved – in order to do this the performer’s hand had to be inside the puppet’s head.
In addition to the heads and bodoes, the puppets had arms and legs (which could stand up, with rather bent knees). A guide rod was probably fastened to each of the puppets’ wrists.
Generally it appears that the legs were allowed to hang and dangle a little. Uncontrolled movements such as these can have a comical effect, but can also undermine the puppets’ credibility – this depends on the context.
The above description is based on photographs.
The New York Times wrote: "That it's staged with imaginative theatricality and precise physical grace is less impressive than the realism of its carefully observed portraits."
The Village Voice wrote: "The work is so full of big laughs and offers so much to love-Waage's wonderful puppet design, an appearance by the northern lights, and other delightful surprises... All you'll remember is how much fun you had."
Wakka Wakka is a theatre company that bases its work on a common understanding of creative and artistic collaboration. Their aim is to make brake, unique and unpredictable works of theatre.
The group is led by Gabrielle Brechner, Kirjan Waage and Gwendolyn Warnock.
Further information: www.wakkawakka.org
| Gwendolyn Warnock (person) | – Stage designer |
| Kirjan Waage (person) | – Stage designer, Designer, Puppet Maker |
| Wakka Wakka Productions (organization) | – Creator |
| Nordland Visual Theatre (organization) | – Creator |
| Saga (production) | – Puppeteer and puppet |