The Digger: A Subterranean Allegory
By Inkfish
Written by: Brian Snapp
Directed and Designed by: Michael Kelly
The Digger: A Subterranean Allegory is a satire about the risks of mankind’s technological obsession. Part man, part machine, The Digger is a new-world pioneer who strives to find the source of life hidden in an underworld dominated by greed, lust, fraud, and treachery. Facing otherworldly demons and those within, The Digger’s search for meaning becomes a sacrificial journey that pushes him to transcend his earthly attachments. But will that sacrifice ultimately include the one he loves?
Inspired by Dante’s Inferno, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and Hermes’ Emerald Tablet, this new production by Inkfish uses both traditional and experimental storytelling through puppetry, poetry, and song, accompanied by soundscapes and video projection.
Inkfish is a collaborative, interdisciplinary puppet theater company that uses historical, literary, biographical and verbatim source material to create theater about contemporary social and political subjects for adult audiences. We believe that theater can not only hold a mirror to the audience allowing them to see their lives in previously unexplored detail, but may also open a window to a new world with its own set of rules.
Directed by Michael Kelly
Sound Design by Joemca
Script, Lyrics, and Projected Poetry by Brian Snapp
Associate Direction by Alissa Mello
Puppetry and Set Design by Michael Kelly
Additional Designs and Construction by Eva Lansberry and Paloma Lansberry
Music by Joemca, Jessica Luck, and Mike “Donk” Weiss Puppetry
Performed by: Dorothy James | Eva Lansberry | Paloma Lansberry | Sarah Plotkin | Emma Wade
“From the opening moments of “The Digger” when the lights go dim I could tell this was going to be a very different kind of puppetry theater. The background set is a beautifully designed, multi layered screen where calculated projections of words and images change the sense of location, time and aspect of the action. We’re now in indefinite space awaiting who knows what….Profoundly mystifying interwoven story lines by Brian Snapp eerily meet to tell the Digger’s tale…it was the startling visuals that captured my attention and imagination…The fantastic puppets designed and created by Mike Kelly set new standards for puppet theater. I look forward to seeing more of his bizarrely fantastic work.”
~ Larry Litt, New York Theatre Wire
“Inkfish has mounted an ambitious, elaborate production, and it’s great to see such intelligent puppetry for adults.”
~ Steve Capra, New York Critic
“Masterful puppeteers, they orchestrate everything with a zen-like calm…”
Honour Bayes, The Public Reviews, London
“…should be seen by all who love theater, science and peace.”
Larry Litt, NY Theatre Wire
“A powerful example of graphic, non-narative puppet theatre”
Naima Khan, Spoonfed.co.uk