Artist Spotlight with Inspirate

I’m Parmjit Sagoo, Executive Producer and the artistic lead for Inspirate. My own background is theatre and drama. Throughout my career I have been a theatre maker, director and producer, with a particular specialism in collaborative processes and co-creation.

Ancient Giants is a project that I feel really encapsulates Inspirate’s core vision, bringing to life a symbolic interpretation of The Ramayana, an innovative fusion of large scale puppetry, martial arts, physical theatre, classical Indian dance and a cinematic soundtrack.

The project began two years ago, through a research and development process supported by Without Walls funding. At this early stage, the heart of our research was a creative dialogue between puppet design and choreography, working with martials arts choreographer Chirag Lukha, Tom Cleaver as our puppet designer, and a cast of dancers and puppeteers. Our exploration looked at how far we could push the design of the 10ft puppets depicting Hanuman (Monkey God) and Ravana (Demon King), and how they could engage in an ambitious and dynamic martials arts battle. Imagine South Asian Gods and Demons meets ‘The Matrix’ meets ‘Transformers’ meets ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’! 

‘The first step was to try combat with historical weapons (including longswords, dagger and military sabre) to experience sparring with them, and see and feel which parts of my body were used. I then stripped out the puppets original joints and redesigned the limbs to incorporate a self-created system of 3D printed ball and socket connections that more closely replicated the necessary range of human movement.’ 

Tom Cleaver, puppet designer and maker

During this research phase, we adapted the puppetry design to be as responsive as possible to the combat choreography. This work was shared at Leicester’s Diwali festival as a pop up street theatre show, and audience reactions were a mix of awe and wonder!

Our second and third rehearsal phases involved refining the combat sequences and the precision of puppeteering required to create this epic encounter, working with skilled puppeteers. We also began to think beyond the ‘battle’ scene, looking at what the narrative surrounding this encounter could be, crafting a contemporary piece of storytelling which still deeply respected the original South Indian epic. At this point, Shreya Vadnerkar joined the creative team as a choreographic mentor, looking at how we embrace both tradition and new approaches within this work.

The female character of Shanti emerged during these explorations. Shanti is a 10 year old girl who’s been told these stories many times by parents and grandparents. Ravana and Hanuman are a vivid part of Shanti’s prayer and play, and the immense power of her imagination is what summons these characters to life. Through physical theatre combined with Bharatanatyam dance, Shanti is the portal into this world. She is drawn to Hanuman’s honour and playfulness, and fascinated by Ravana’s arrogance and cunning. The battle between the two is a reflection of Shanti’s own exploration of the struggle between good and evil, peace and conflict, loyalty and betrayal.

‘Shanti embodies the strength of a warrior, the playfulness of a child, the stillness and sacredness of prayer. As we see these conflicting qualities unfold in front of us, we recognise that they are an integral part of human nature and exist within our own internal worlds and psyche too.’ 

In alignment with Inspirate’s values, our process has been collaborative, working closely with our cast and creative team. We have carefully brought together a team that is diverse, representative and nurtures both experienced and emerging talents. In doing this, we’ve created a ‘melting pot’ which supports artists at different stages of their careers, a vibrant combination of skills, perspectives and artistic offerings.

Ancient Giants has just embarked upon a 2024 tour, beginning with Nottingham Puppetry Festival and performing at Brighton Festival, Just So, Warrington Mela and with Walk the Plank in Manchester. Our tour locations are a deliberate mix of South Asian festivals and festivals which reach a wider range of audiences. We actively seek to take our work to a multitude of spaces and communities, believing that South Asian stories and their universal themes are meaningful, intriguing and relevant to audiences across the world.

Ancient Giants has been produced by Inspirate, and funded by Without Walls and Arts Council England. Find out more here.