
<P>Lost in the cerebellum: Compagnie Philippe Genty (photo: Philippe Genty)<P>Deborah Jowitt reviews the extraordinary Compagnie Philippe Genty. As far as I can remember, it must be 7 or 8 years since they came to London. Time they came back.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Some puppets, like those in the Awaji or Bunraku troupes of Japan, enthrall us by their ability to move like miniaturized Kabuki actors. As they sail about, their tiny hands clench and unfold, their eyebrows twitch. The movements of two visible puppeteers attest to the virtuosity involved in creating small-scale virtual reality. Big hands press handkerchiefs into tiny ones. <P>But contemporary puppetry more often constructs domains in which fantasy and surrealism run riot. Stowaways, by Compagnie Philippe Genty, one of the troupes presented during the biennial Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater, sails on a dream Genty once had. The subject condones—invites—illogic and promotes sudden transformations. The few puppets in Stowaways function as the intrusive visions of live performers.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>The Genty section in Jowitt's review comes after the BRB one. <P> <A HREF="http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0040/jowitt.shtml" TARGET=_blank>http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0040/jowitt.shtml</A>