“War is about to begin,
now is the time to become heroes.
But the soldiers are plastic,
the battlefield a table
and home is just a distant image on a screen.
In a combat with no clear enemy or goal,
the border between reality and fantasy blurs:
is this really happening,
or is it all just a game?”
„Plastic Heroes“ is a surprising, funny and fast paced collage of images from war, made entirely of “ready made” children's toys.
Violence, desire, hate and fear are put on the table as the so called 'naive' children toys are brought to life, and the innocence of child's play encounters the bleeding reality of adult war.
Combining a variety of object manipulation techniques, video and acting „Plastic Heroes“ manages to be funny and painful at the same time, and to deal with hard issues while giving the audience a wild and refreshing puppetry experience.
About Ariel
Ariel is a puppeteer, director and performer.
In his work, he uses very little text and a lot of playfulness in order to deal with hard social and political subjects.
He does this with a mix of puppetry and performance techniques from different disciplines according to each project, with the hope to inspire viewers to feel, think and react.
His shows have been invited to countless festivals and theatres in countries such as Germany, Denmark, France, Russia, India, United Kingdom, Canada, Estonia, Israel, Finland, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Austria, Lithuania and many more.
Currently living in Germany, Ariel creates, performs, teaches, directs and collaborates with theatres and institutions such as Theater Junge Generation Dresden, Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin, Schauburg Theater München, Staatsschauspiel Dresden, FITZ!, Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst (HMDK) Stuttgart , Hanut 31 Gallery-Theater Tel Aviv and so on. Ariel also animated puppets for dozens of Television & Cinema productions, such as Sesame Street Israel, where he manipulates and gives the voice to the beloved character “Elmo”.
He graduated Cinema studies (B.A) in Tel Aviv University, studied puppetry classes in the School of Visual Theatre, Jerusalem and took masterclasses and workshops in the Institute International de la Marionnette, Charleville-Mezieres and Train Theater, Jerusalem.
Credits:
Created and performed by: Ariel Doron
Artistic consultant: Shahar Marom
Co-Directors: Rotem Elroy and David Lockard
Objects manufacture: Chinese People
Video: Anael Resnick, Ariel Doron
* The show was produced with the support of Hanut 31 Theatre
Thanks: Anael Resnick, Daniel Cohen Levi, Yoav Weiman, Anat Arbel, Nufar Sela, Lior Rachmilevitz, Pandora Collective.