The British Theatre Guide: Interview with Ronnie Burkett

Interviews

Ronnie Burkett - Still Not Understanding the World

Rivka Jacobson talks to the Canadian puppeteer.

He is tall, charming and most engaging individual. We met at the Barbican where his marionette show 10 Days on Earth is playing.

Ronnie Burkett will be celebrating his 50th birthday on the 10th June. "About turning 50, I am at an age where some would like to classify me as a Grand Puppeteer. I am not ready for that." He was happy to note that Twyla Tharp, the internationally renowned choreographer, pointed that one's career begins at 50. His demeanor captures the cutting edge between youth and maturity.

"You must have read that I discovered puppets at the age of seven," he says. "I still don't understand the world any more than I did then. With the marionettes show I try and create the wonder of that seven years old."

Darrel, the main protagonist in 10 Days on Earth, is a simple middle-aged man with learning difficulties which conveniently encapsulate the innocence of a child-like individual in an aging body. Burkett accepts that this was one of the reasons for creating Darrel. However there are of course other aspects to it. The show deals with notions of loneliness, love, care and the ability to cope with a great deal more than what is expected of one. The initial idea for the drama came to Burkett when sitting at a restaurant near an elderly woman with her middle age son who seemed very simple and dependent on her. He observed the loving relationship and the son's dependency. When she dies, Burkett wondered, will the son face loneliness and how would he cope without her?

Darrel's needs are rudimentary. He does not want more than his lunch, his mother and to count the stairs. "I wish I was like him. I am tired of wanting more stuff. Let us look at our consumer-oriented society, our obsession with the need to own more and better gadgets. In everyday life we are subjected to 700 advertisements. We live in a culture of false desire." This is a theme that Burkett returns to in his passionate belief that mankind fails to look after the planet. "We need to consume less to stop our orgy of oil."

Is that a theme for the next show?

"Yes. It bothers me enormously. I travel a lot and I see the impact of damage we are inflicting on our planet at present."

Theatre of Marionettes - Timeless magic

Burkett set up his company 'Theatre of Marionettes' in Alberta, Canada, in 1986. Prior to that, he confesses, was a period where he learnt the techniques of how to use marionettes and the stage. "I have done many things with puppets but my whole life I loved two things: marionettes and theatre. At the time I started we were all doing gigs, schools and kid's shows on TV. I wanted to work for adults in the theatre. Theatre is still a magic place and puppets are still the most timeless art form."

Burkett builds his own marionettes and sets, writes his own scripts and composes his own songs and, above all, he gives life to them. It is the nearest one can get to home grown product. "I have my soul in it," he confesses.

Work in Progress

"I am working in progress. I am still hopeful that I haven't reached the pinnacle of my professional achievements."

He admits that Tinka's New Dress "was the beginning of what defines my work. I could only do Tinka because I had a long career before. The first half was learning techniques and how to utilize the stage."

Burkett, naturally, did not develop in vacuum. He was inspired by the Czech puppeteer, Professor Josef Skupa, the father of the first modern professional marionette theatre, who was put in prison by the Nazis in 1943 for his anti-fascist resistance activities.

Tinka's New Dress is embedded in a political ambience. It is a fable based on the illegal underground "Daisy" plays of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, and speaks of how struggling artists survive in a repressive society. I asked how he explains Tinka's international appeal which led to numerous awards. Burkett vivaciously explains, "Tinka was a success because it was personal" - pointing his right hand to his chest. "All my previous shows were generic. This one was very personal."

I asked if he could elaborate. The animated artist looked at me and stated resolutely, "This is a play about standing up to tyranny. You cannot silence humanity. It will always rise and eventually succeed regardless and despite oppression."

Momentarily I could hear in my head the moving speech made by the barber who has assumed Hynkel's identity in Chaplin's brilliant film The Great Dictator. There was that element of effervescent energy that transcends from profound compassion and convictions.

Street of Blood raised issues such as AIDS and gays, as does Provenance which explores the culture of youth and beauty with which society is obsessed to a degree akin to addiction. These may be termed, I suggested, socio-political issues. Burkett, who has retained his good looks, with a youthful demeanour smiles in agreement.

He believes that a serious message has to be dressed in humour to have any impact. "I learnt a long time ago that when you say something edged with humour it will achieve the desired reaction from people. It shifts the issue into a different realm when humour is used to convey your message.

"Some of my best crying was when witnessing incredible beauty and my best laughter was in the most bizarre sadness. In my shows I don't want the audience to think I preach to them."

Most puppets are of animals. Burkett's creations are mainly people.

10 Days on Earth

There are twelve characters and more than thirty marionettes. All are Burkett's creation. Each marionette is attached to fourteen strings. Burkett wrote the script, he is the voice-over and the puppeteer that pull the stings. He designed the set. In short he is the master creator of all.

"The children's book The Honeydog and Little Burp referred to in the play, was written first and then Darrel's story. I wanted Darrel to have something to go back to," said Burkett and with a warm smile he shows me two photos of two gorgeous dogs. He points to one of them saying, "This is my dog Charlie, his nickname is Honeydog". That explains the deep affection that comes across in the portrayal of Honeydog in 10 Days on Earth.

Darrel's father appears once; we do not know if he is coming back. It is ambiguous. "You only hope that he will be back,"' says Burkett.

The audience all have their frame of reference and will put Darrel and his journey exactly where it needs to be for them.

I pointed to the title of his play. I asked why it is "ten days" on earth and not a week or three days. Does the number of days signify anything for him? "Yes," he says. The cordial look was momentarily eclipsed

"There were ten days between my birth and my adoption. This is a self reference,' he said. 'You have to impose parameters, to think that he could survive ten days where others would not think he could. We need each other to learn to stand alone. My parents gave me the resources to face the world, not to fear the world."

He accepts that at one point the adoption affected his perception. He admits that he was troubled by the question how a person that gave you life could then give you up. "This is a youthful and romantic idea which I do not believe in. The fact that my mother gave me life is a huge statement. It is marvellous to be chosen."

The artist's voice

Anyone who has seen his show cannot but be impressed by the wide range of voices he produces and the speed in which he moves from one character to another without flinching. He modestly explains that it is all down to training and rehearsals. As he is the author of the script, "it is easy for me to hear each character's voice in my head. I find it natural. I learned long ago to tap into voices in my head."

No one is indispensable. However in this case I suspect that Ronnie Burkett is. Once he stops performing, his show will come to an end. I wondered if it ever crossed his mind to have the shows filmed.

Of course he had. "In the theatre the show works because I'm there. I direct the audience's attention. With a film the camera tells you where to look. It is a different way of viewing it. In this form, it lives only for the two hours we are in the dark, in the theatre, experiencing that form of art. Certain art forms are immediate and have relevance and meaning about the time they are created."

That, he claims, has importance of its own. Art is a risk for the artist, the creator. At the same time he sees the risk the audience takes when putting on their coats and dressing to come to the theatre.

Burkett thinks that the theatre may be having a renaissance. In a digital age, he predicts, people will be seeking an acoustic voice, the storyteller. Having an acoustic voice telling a story is magical and spiritual. The audience know it is home-made in the best sense. The invitation to share that makes the theatre beautiful.

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