Moses was the hero of Exodus, the man who gave us the 10 commandments in the Bible, but he is also the hero of a new puppet show created by the UK-based Blind Summit. And the name of the show also reflects the great prophet's life - The Table. In the show, the character of Moses invites audience members to visit his table, to tell them the story of how he got there and of the people who have visited him and who have departed.

"We thought the metaphor of a puppet stuck on a table would be very interesting," said Mark Down, the artistic director of Blind Summit. "We wanted to play with the idea of Moses being trapped in the wilderness for 40 years after he was excluded from the Seder (a Jewish ritual which involves telling the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt) until he died."

Theatrical celebration

Down told the Global Times that The Table is a commissioned work from the Jewish Community Centre in London, and intended as a theatrical celebration of the Seder.

And on the evenings of October 30 and 31, this puppet show will receive its debut China performances at the Sky Theater in 1933 Shanghai on Liyang Road in Hongkou district. Prior to this the show was staged at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe before embarking on a European tour.

Down said that, in his opinion, the puppets he works with are "magic."

"Through finely detailed movements and gestures, they create an intimate and intense personal world where the characters' thoughts become physically realized in action on the stage. And the power of puppetry is in the simplicity of their movements, combined with the complexities of their implications. They live in a world where everything may come alive, or come to die in a sudden way, just as in the way that God controls us," said Down. "Therefore, when we look into the death of Moses, no matter whether it's in the Bible, or in the Jewish Midrash (a method of interpreting Biblical stories), we find there an existential examination of life, and the mystery of death. In the text, there is a clear separation between God and Man, in which we found a very rich idea for our puppetry and where you can see the puppeteers. They are not hidden."

Founded in 1997, the majority of Blind Summit's puppet shows are inspired by Bunraku, the ancient Japanese puppet-show genre. The guiding principle of Bunraku is three puppeteers who work together to operate just one hand-crafted puppet.

Down explained to the Global Times: "Three people bring one character to life, which seems to be a perfect metaphor for how all of us humans are connected. And the visible puppeteers make it clear that this is not reality, and you can see exactly how it is being done. This creates an exhilarating contradiction in the viewer's head and mirrors many of the paradoxes in life."

The beginnings of Blind Summit have a closer connection to China than many viewers realize.

Down said that Nick Barnes (who founded Blind Summit) met an old Chinese man called He Liyi while he was backpacking in China in the 1990s. The man related his life story to Barnes, telling him how he was previously an English teacher who was forced to discontinue his work during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). After the revolution ended, He was finally asked to teach again, and he later published his life story.

"After Barnes returned to the UK, he decided to create a puppet show to retell the story of He," said Down. "He made five puppets altogether; three of He - as a boy, young man and old man - and of He's wife and also a tiny puppet of himself as a traveller. Barnes won funding to employ four performers and he spent a month experimenting with the puppets. This was how Blind Summit came about and I was one of those performers."

Adapted works

The acclaimed works of Blind Summit include Low Life (2005), adapted from Pulp, the last novel of the German-born American writer, Charles Bukowski and Madama Butterfly (2005), which was a joint venture with the English National Opera.

Blind Summit also helped with the design of the huge puppet show that enthralled viewers at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. "We were invited by Danny Boyle and we used a team of almost 60 people: 18 puppeteers, 35 volunteers, crew and puppet makers. It was very challenging because of the scale of the puppets and the show and the number of people involved. We spent three months rehearsing for what resulted in a roughly 90-second performance. It was a real honor to represent the nation in this amazing event."

Down said that there is a long tradition of puppetry in Britain, the most famous antecedent being the children's seaside favorite Punch and Judy. This warring couple, in the guise of crude glove puppets, can still be seen up and down British coastal towns in a slapstick version of the ancient Italian mask theater, the Comedia dell'Arte.

Down said: "Puppet shows have always been associated with children's theater in Britain, but it is not just for children. In fact, I think, a lot of the irony is lost on children."

Date: October 30 and 31, 7:30 pm

Venue: Sky Theater, 1933 Shanghai

1933老场坊空中剧院

Address: 611 Liyang Road

溧阳路611号

Tickets: 80 to 280 yuan

Call 6888-1933 for details