the puppet as a figure of the other final P PIRIS 2013 - Central ...

which have elaborated distinct forms of manipulacting. The first case study isCuniculus, created in 2008 by the Dutch company Stuffed Puppet Theatre. This piecewas written, designed and performed by Neville Tranter. The second is Twin Houses,created in 1994 by the Belgian company Mossoux-Bonté and still part of theirrepertoire. The piece has been initiated and performed by Nicole Mossoux and directedby Patrick Bonté. These two productions offer distinct representations of the Other thatpertain to the mode of manipulacting developed in each piece. Using Hans-ThiesLehmann’s study of postdramatic theatre, I argue that Cuniculus is a form of dramatictheatre whereas Twin Houses belongs to postdramatic theatre. The former tells a linearstory with dramatic characters while the latter is a series of tableaux without any textand dramatically defined personae. The representation of the figure of the Other inCuniculus is contingent on the training and the approach to theatre taken by Tranter,who initially trained in Method acting. Through his approach to text, characterisationand dramaturgy his work can be categorised under what Lehmann describes as dramatictheatre. Conversely, Mossoux and Bonté do not use narratives and texts in theirproductions. Their approach to theatre is a combination of contemporary dance andGrotowski. Their work can be described as postdramatic.The theoretical framework of my research into manipulacting is predominantlyphenomenological. The purpose of phenomenology in this context is to disclose inwhich way the spectator’s consciousness apprehends the meeting on stage of a humanbeing with a puppet. I define the puppet from an ontological perspective as an objectwhich appears on stage as a subject. Subject and object have several definitions. TheConcise Oxford Dictionary (1978) gives six different definitions of ‘subject’:1) Any member of a State except its Sovereign, person owing obedience to another26