Delicate, Controlled Manipulation: An Interview with Nufonia Must Fall's Puppeteers

Kid Koala's Nufonia Must Fall at the Noorderzon Festival in 2014.

A tone-deaf robot, fearful of his growing obsolescence, tries to woo an office worker with his love songs in prolific producer and turntablist Kid Koala’s bold adaptation of his tender, and entirely wordless, 2003 graphic novel Nufonia Must Fall—coming to the BAM Harvey Theater September 17—20. Collaborating with Oscar-nominated production designer K.K. Barrett, Kid Koala enlists a team of puppeteers to stage the circuit-bent amoré as camera crews edit the footage in real time, resulting in a live silent film. To better understand this unique performance event, we spoke with three of the show's puppeteers (Clea Minaker, Felix Boisvert, and Karina Bleau) about the various mechanisms underpinning such a hyper-hybrid work of art.

In Context: Nufonia Must Fall

Nufonia Must Fall, the puppet-filled adaptation of DJ Kid Koala's titular graphic novel, comes to BAM on September 17. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of articles and videos related to the show. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought below and by posting on social media using #NufoniaMustFall.