Tablo takes to the streets 

What happens when two longtime friends, a creative director and a designer working in the advertising world, decide to focus their creative juices on something more personal? Something fun and theatrical?

In the case of Christchurch’s John Cohen-Du Four and Simon van der Sluijs, the result is ‘Tablo–The Notional Theatre Company of New Zealand.’ Just one glimpse of their surreal and eccentric characters and you know you’re wired to a world less ordinary.

Hailing originally from the northern hemisphere, both Cohen-Du Four (USA) and van der Sluijs (The Netherlands) repeatedly experienced the magic and illusion of puppetry from an early age.

Tablo (the name is based on ‘tableau vivant,’ the popular 19th Century art of creating a ‘living picture’) is the only theatre company in New Zealand drawing on the European-inspired tradition of puppet and masked theatre for adult audiences. 

Tablo pushes the boundaries of theatrical experience with impressionistic, dreamlike, humorous and even slightly disturbing staged shows, and roaming street performances.  

Often using large hybrid-body-puppets designed by van der Sluijs, Tablo’s world is inhabited by eye-catching characters that never speak yet are compelling and strangely engaging.

Last year Tablo performed its show ‘Box’ to sell-out audiences in Christchurch’s Arts Centre, and was set to perform a major new work featuring puppetry, dance, clowning and film in the Christchurch Body Festival when the event was cancelled due to the September 4 earthquake. 

Now, hard on the heels of their recent appearances in the Adelaide Fringe (and later this year in France and England), Tablo, featuring performances by Cohen-Du Four, van der Sluijs and Sue Beesley, will be out and about during the Dunedin Fringe, introducing passers-by to such roaming delights as Sing Boy, Dr Eccles’ Exploratorium, The Seer, Drummer Boy and more. 

Watch out for Tablo on the following dates, location and times:
24 Oct, Wall Street Mall, 11am–2pm
25 Oct, Octagon, 11am–2pm
26 Oct, Farmer’s Market, 9am–12noon
27 Oct, Octagon 11am–2pm
Gold coin for performances much appreciated. 

Otago Daily Times questions:

Name: Tablo–The Notional Theatre Company of New Zealand
Creative Directors: John Cohen-Du Four and Simon van der Sluijs
Name of act: Roaming Street Puppetry
Where are you based? Christchurch, NZ

1) What inspired your act and what’s it about?
We both grew up in the northern hemisphere (USA, The Netherlands) where the idea of puppetry for grown-up audiences has been a long standing tradition, particularly in Europe. Tired of pouring so much of the best of our creativity into advertising work for clients, we decided to pursue a long-held idea of creating an ongoing puppetry and mask theatre company in New Zealand. Hence Tablo (the name is based on ‘tableau vivant,’ the popular 19th Century art of creating a ‘living picture’). Tablo performs staged shows featuring music, film projection, clowning, even dance and physical theatre. We also take our characters out into the streets to perform roaming street puppetry, which is what we’re doing this time round in Dunedin. 

2) Why will Dunedin audiences enjoy it?
We design our performances around strong visual concepts that are eye-catching and compelling. Just watching the strange ways of our eccentric characters, even in passing, is entertaining. Our puppets never speak but they certainly manage to convey much – be it funny, odd or mysterious.

3) What made you want to be part of the Dunedin Fringe Festival? 
We were asked, which is wonderful. The Dunedin Fringe seems to go from strength to strength, which says much about the quality of the organisation and planning behind it. Performer colleagues who have been part of the festival all have nothing but good to report.

4) What do you know about Dunedin?
We’ve visited Dunedin on many occasions over many years. It’s got a unique vibe that’s at once vibrant and youthful, cultured and sophisticated, scenic and historical. It’s one of this country’s best kept secrets. 

5) What makes you smile/laugh?
In terms of festivals such as these, it’s the delight of the unexpected. Especially instances of public interaction when the unplanned happens, and you run with it, and both you and your audience realise you’ve just shared a delightful one-of-a-kind moment.