Handspring Puppet Company’s factory in Capricorn Park near Muizenberg in Cape Town looks like one of Santa’s workshops, as the expert team of crafts people put the final touches on a splendid new set of puppets scheduled to depart on 9 December for the North American Touring version of the National Theatre’s successful production of War Horse. The hit play will start its US tour in June 2012 beginning with Los Angeles, and will be presented in 20 cities, whilst a new production will also be mounted at Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre in February 2012 for an open-ended run.

War Horse premiered at the National Theatre in London 2007 and is based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo.

Handspring was catapulted into the limelight earlier this year when they were acknowledged with a prestigious Special Tony at this year’s Tony Award ceremony held in New York City. Other awards were a special Drama Desk Award to the Creative Team for ‘Thrilling Stagecraft’ and a special Outer Critics Circle Award. The production itself swept the 2011 theatre awards winning five Tony Awards (including Best Play), the Drama Desk Award for Best Play, three Outer Critics Circle Awards (including Best Play) and the Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Play.

Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler, who co-founded Handspring Puppet Company in 1981, have recently returned from New York where they auditioned puppeteers for the North American Touring production of War Horse. As Master Puppeteers, they are highly regarded internationally for their outstanding puppet creations and it is their genius puppetry that has brought the puppets to life in War Horse. They continue to run the Handspring company, which provides an artistic home and professional base for a core group of performers, designers, theatre artists and technicians who have become full-time employees.

Handspring continues to explore the boundaries of adult puppet theatre within an African context. Originally they created shows for children and thereafter works for adult audiences. Arguably one of the greatest puppetry companies in the world, Handspring has since collaborated with a succession of innovative South African directors including the artist William Kentridge. Handspring’s works have appeared in over 200 venues in South Africa and abroad. Apart from seasons in theatres across Southern Africa, Handspring has been presented at many international festivals including Edinburgh, the Avignon Festival, the Next Wave Festival at BAM in New York, The African Odyssey Festival at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, Theatre d' Automne in Paris, Theatre der Welt in Germany, as well as in Hong Kong, Singapore, Adelaide, Zurich and Bogota.

Handspring is associated with cutting-edge theatre arts and performance practice as well as development work in townships around the Cape.