Ukwanda- Reinvigorating Puppetry

Puppetry is one of the oldest art forms. Although it is now often viewed as exclusively a medium for children, puppets have historically been used in everything from religious rituals to subversive political theatre. The art of puppetry is deceptively simple as it involves creating the illusion of life in inanimate objects.

The Cape Town based Ukwanda Puppet and Design Company are reinvigorating this tradition for early 21^st century South Africa. Originally known as the Masiphumelele Youth Development Theatre Group, the company was founded in 2010 by Ncedile Daki and  Luyanda Nogodlwane. Both are former members of the Handspring Puppet Company. This experience provided them with a solid training in building and staging puppet shows, as Handspring has won international acclaim for its work in London and on Broadway.

Ukwanda has focused on creating socially engaged puppetry rooted in both South African traditions and contemporary pop culture.  The company was founded at the time of the 2010 World Cup and they initially focused on making makaraba (the hand-made helmets worn by soccer fans) and performing as a dance troupe at schools and theatres.  Their first major production was the Xhosa fairy-tale Qhawe. Based upon a traditional story, the puppet show tells a story of betrayal, swapped identities and mythological animals. They have toured extensively, performing at the  Montague National Youth Arts Festival, the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown the  Cape Town Fringe Festival and the Zabalaza Theatre Festival at the Baxter Theatre.

A more recent production, Slyza Tsotsi, was made for the Cape Town Carnival. This giant puppet was based upon the archetype of the pantsuala dancer, providing a sense of mythological heft to a modern figure. Along with their own work, the Ukwanda team is committed to mentoring the puppeteers and visual artists of tomorrow regularly providing workshops at townships and high schools around Cape Town.