Adrian Kohler

The internationally acclaimed Handspring Puppet Company was founded by Adrian Kohler and his partner, Basil Jones, in 1981. In 2007, Kohler and Jones worked with directors Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris and choreographer Toby Sedgwick to design and construct life-sized horse puppets for the play War Horse, which premiered at the Royal National Theatre in London, England.

The masterfully hand-crafted puppets require a three-man team to animate their movements and represent ground-breaking innovation in the field of puppetry.

Adrian’s love and talent for puppet making was fostered by his parents, Thelma and Harold. The Kohler family lived in Redhouse, Port Elizabeth, where Thelma ran a nursery school that included puppet shows as part of the day’s entertainment. With Adrian and the rest of the family’s help, these amateur shows, staged in the family’s converted garage, provided entertainment for all local Redhouse residents.

The play War Horse will make its South African premiere on 22 October at the Teatro Theatre in Johannesburg and at Artscape Opera House in Cape Town from 5 December 2014.

http://www.handspringpuppet.co.za/handspring-people/