On a recent Sunday afternoon, unsuspecting passers-by strolling on the Esplanade waterfront were “ambushed” by enormous seagulls.
The squawking birds waddled after cyclists and charged at people whipping their phones out to record the spectacle.
They loomed over the reaching hands of slack-jawed children, some of whom scrambled for refuge behind their parents.
Giant seagulls invaded Singapore shores thanks to Snuff Puppets, an Australian troupe, which last came to Singapore in 2015.
The group’s handcrafted oddities have drawn screams and laughter on the streets of 38 countries worldwide since 1992.
The company, in town for the Esplanade’s Flipside festival from May 27 to 29, also held a workshop called Snuff Skool, where participants aged 14 and older got to meet the mammoth creations up close.
Sweat oozed out as participants climbed into oversized puppets, animating such bizarre entities as a dismembered eyeball on legs, tentacled intestines, pastel pink rabbits in boxer briefs and a trio of skeletons.
The creations were intentionally macabre, said a spokesman, as the troupe explored taboo topics such as death in an irreverent fashion.
The workshop offered the public a glimpse of what it took to move these puppets. Participants warmed up by practising non-verbal communication and simulating the movements of the creature whose skin they wore. After an eight-hour session, everyone gathered for a candid sharing of experiences.
Student Isaac Chew (bottom), 14, who operated the 15kg seagull despite his small frame, said: “I feel more confident when I’m inside a costume rather than outside being myself because you can do things you wouldn’t otherwise do. In costume, you can display your true self.”
Manoeuvred by pulleys and ropes, the giants are constructed from lightweight materials such as sponge foam, cane, aluminium and bamboo. The flexibility of a puppet such as the Guts (pictured below) allowed its puppeteer to squirm across the floor as if induced by peristalsis.
Freelance actor Jovan Aw (bottom), 21, said the skeleton costume brought out his inner child. “In such an uptight society like Singapore, puppetry brings out a much-needed sense of play. When I get into the skeleton, the movement just comes naturally,” he said.
He wandered into the Esplanade office in costume only to realise that he had accidentally gatecrashed a job interview. He said: “I barged into the meeting room and got up close to the interviewee’s face. Fortunately, it lightened up the tense mood as everyone in the meeting room was smiling.”
Snuff’s production manager, Mr Daniele Poidomani, 53, who has worked with the company since 1998, said that life-size puppets have been its trademark.
He said: “People don’t have to try to forget that there’s a person behind (the puppet). The audience becomes part of the performance instead of being just a spectator. You insert an extraordinary five minutes of craziness into their ordinary lives.”
Due to the physical demands of bringing the puppets to life, street acts wrapped up after 20 to 30 minutes. As temperatures rose to 33 deg C on May 28, the puppeteers unwound on the studio floor for a breather. Costumes were aired and spot-cleaned to remove the odour of perspiration-slicked bodies.
Melbourne-born Caitlyn “Caito” Zacharias (bottom right), 28, who has toured with Snuff Puppets for about a year, said that puppetry challenged adults to be childish again.
She said: “We aim to make it super inclusive. Anyone regardless of size, age or skill can get into a puppet. We also have an ensemble of gender non-conforming people.”
“No matter who you are, nobody can really judge you. They just see a beautiful seagull. Be crazy, shake things up, don’t abide by the status quo and stand out for who you are.”
