Company established by the Swiss couple, Michel and Tina Perret-Gentil, in Udaipur, India, in 1973. Under the guidance of Pannalal, puppet master at the Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal, an institute dedicated to the conservation of traditional arts, the couple studied the string puppet techniques (kathputli) of Rajasthan: the fight scenes, dances, horse and rider acrobatics…

Back in Europe, the Perret-Gentils toured with their shows, familiarizing their audiences to this kind of traditional puppet theatre. They travelled the roads with their puppets in an ancient mail van, established a more or less stable base in Geneva, bought a second bus and then acquired a caravan for their children…

After their production entitled Danses indiennes (Indian Dances), presented at several festivals, they created many original stories inspired, more often than not, by fairy tales and myths. They used a variety of techniques according to need: shadow puppets, hand puppets, glove puppets, etc., and of course string puppets. In 1980, the Perret-Gentils created and operated the string puppets for Michel Poletti’s Pulicinella, a multimedia production for Swiss Television and the Festival of Lugano.

Since 2002, the troupe has its own space: two huge, magnificent tents that are, in fact, Mongolian yurts. This space provides all the advantages of a permanent theatre while still retaining a nomadic character so dear to its owners.      

(See Switzerland.)