Muppets, marionettes and magic: My life with puppets
Inspired by Muppets creator Jim Henson and his own mother's puppet shows, Basil Twist took his creations on stage in New York beginning a career marvelling crowds with puppetry.
Basil Twist's fascination for puppets started as a child watching productions his mum put on as an amateur puppeteer. Basil built his own puppet characters of Star Wars as a kid and loved it, but became a 'closeted puppeteer' in his teens. It was not cool anymore, and playing with dolls was seen as feminine.
Basil pursued an education at college, but became unhappy and dropped out. Later moving to New York, Basil could finally embrace his puppetry passions. He scoured phone books and bashed phones to track down people involved in puppetry. His diligence took him around the world, winning awards and captivating crowds along the way. During the pandemic Basil found his biggest challenge to date - bringing the much-loved animated Japanese character Totoro to life for a live action stage show.
The 'My Neighbour Totoro' Royal Shakespeare Company production is currently showing at the Barbican in London, UK.
Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Tommy Dixon
(Photo: Basil Twist and Stickman in front of the city skyline. Credit: Christophe l'Oiseau)
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
Last on
More episodes
Broadcasts
- Wed 28 Feb 2024 12:06GMT大象传媒 World Service except East Asia & South Asia
- Wed 28 Feb 2024 18:06GMT大象传媒 World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
- Wed 28 Feb 2024 23:06GMT大象传媒 World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Thu 29 Feb 2024 03:06GMT大象传媒 World Service
Contact Outlook
Info on how we might use your contribution on air
Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary
Step into someone else鈥檚 life and expect the unexpected