Today we went to see Bread and Puppet Theatre perform on the Hampshire College campus. I’ve known about this troupe for a few years, but hadn’t had a chance to see them before. They perform a sort-of circus-like series of skits, all done with various kinds of human-sized puppetry, masks, and so forth, and all with a political message. you can probably guess that, if I like it, it’s leftie politics, and that is certainly the case (anti-war, anti-corporate, and anti-theocracy were the main themes today). In this area they’re preaching to the converted, really, but it is still cool to get an artistic perspective, especially one that is done with a great sense of fun (and silliness). Also, the “puppets” they use are often very beautiful, and effective, though all very simple.
They have a range of styles, not only in the visual costume/prop aspects, but also in the way they present each message. Some of the skits were very obvious in their targets, and some were very abstract (one or two confusing even, but then art should be confusing occasionally).

I’d recommend going if you get the chance; the show is a good value at the admission price of $0. 🙂

PS: Unrelated, but I posted a new Sad Lib today. Eventually I hope to set up that page with its own feed.