Donations give puppets new life

NEW AND IMPROVED: The puppet cast of The Kitchen at the End of the World, which needed some repairs before their Wellington debut. Creator Steffan Kreft was able to fund the show through a Boosted campaign.

Thanks to the public's trust in their creative prowess, two Wairarapa artists are taking their new and improved puppetry show to Wellington.

Greytown's Steffen Kreft and William Connor are debuting their theatrical piece The Kitchen at the End of the World - starring nine hand-crafted marionettes - at Circa Theatre next week.

Encouraged after the show's premiere to sell-out audiences in the 2012 Greytown Arts Festival, the couple successfully pitched it to Circa last year - but needed about $10,000 to help take the show on the road.

After receiving rejections from various funders, Kreft and Connor set up a crowdfunding campaign on the New Zealand Art Foundation website Boosted, and were able to raise the full $9000 two weeks before the campaign closed.

Kreft, who directed the show, said more than 100 people made donations - including several from his native Germany.

"It was wonderful how quickly it came together. We managed to raise 50 per cent of our goal within three days.

"It is hard to fund arts projects in New Zealand, and we knew we were asking for a lot of money.

"But, getting so many donations showed people trust us - they are saying, 'you guys are doing amazing work and we want to support you'."

Kreft said the funds raised will go towards publicising the show in Wellington (such as posters and fliers) and wages for the show's cast and creative team, some of whom are based overseas.

It will also go towards revitalising the marionettes - fashioned by Kreft out of clay, wood, plaster and papier mache.

"The puppets needed a few repairs, which cost a bit.

"Their hands in particular are made from this two-part plastic which is very expensive - fixing one head and one pair of hands comes to about $200."

Kreft and Connor still have to raise about $4000, as their final application to Creative New Zealand was denied - and have until next week to gather the final funds via Boosted.

The Kitchen at the End of the World tells the story of a group of marionettes on a quest to find "the last song ever written", longing to explore the world beyond their strings.

Kreft said Wairarapa audiences were "mesmerised" by the show - and Connor has been working with editors to make the script "perfect".

"We've made the story a bit deeper.

"When people think of marionettes, they think of the bright puppets with big, goggly eyes you see in children's shows," he said.

"But this is a show for adults."

-The Kitchen at the End of the World runs at Circa Theatre from Thursday January 15 to Sunday January 25. More information can be found on www.circa.co.nz. To support the artists, go to www.boosted.org.nz/projects/marionettes-at-circa.