Jan Zalud’s beautiful facsimiles of the Hansel & Gretel puppets he’d made for the stage production of 2018 arrived here several weeks ago.
I commissioned the puppets when the producer Kate Romano of Goldfield Productions and the Goldfield Ensemble, repeatedly declined to lend the originals for my forthcoming exhibition at Oriel Myrddin. It was an inexplicable decision on her part because the puppets were funded in part by an Arts Council of England grant to Goldfield, and in part by me, and so ownership could be disputed. However instead of all the anxiety of embarking on a legal challenge, I decided instead to commission and pay for the facsimiles. It was the right decision. Jan has made a spectacular job of the rebuilds, and I’d defy anyone to spot the difference between these and the originals. Soon they’ll be on their way to costumier Oonagh Creighton Griffiths, who costumed the first puppets.
Rudi is fascinated by the puppets and is very gentle with them.
Clive Hicks-Jenkins' Artlog: 
Funny, my first thought was ‘wonderful’ then saw it was Lorrie’s too.
A certain Jack remarked, “Who’s the clever puppeteer?” Silly man, they were just behaving as any one might when a dog has a sniff!
Bravo! I’m SO pleased.
Love as ever
B x
I look forward to the exhibition at Oriel Myrrdin very much. Do you know when it will open?
I hope Rudi will be there too!
Because Oriel Myrddin is currently undergoing a massive rebuilding programme, I’m currently awaiting new estimates of completion of of work. My exhibition is to be the inaugural one, and it looks as though it’s going to be late 2023 or early 2024.
Wonderful!
And such a relief.
Tender scenes, good old Rudi, he knows how much they mean to you ❤️❤️
I’m quite surprised by how gentle he is with them, because he’s a boisterous fellow and rather likes exploring things with his mouth. I have to say he did give her face a bit of a washing!
I love this. Not just for the puppets, but for Rudy too. He looks great. Life goes on.
Un fuerte abrazo para los tres, desde Madrid !!!
Thank you, Maria. Rudi is a funny little chap, and he does have some baggage from his earlier experiences. However he’s made very good progress in the six months we’ve had him, and I’m sure the progress will continue. Sending you love from a cold but sunny west Wales. XXX
Stunning puppets
Thank you, Sian. Jan did a magnificent job of reproducing what he’d made originally in 2018. It’s really not an easy thing to return to such a complex task and do it all over again. Luckily we had my original designs, the templates Jan made from them and many, many photographs of the original puppets.