Bringing Object Theatre to English Readers
Support the Kickstarter before September 19, 2025 – in time for the Charleville-Mézières puppet festival
Hello friends,
I’m Eleanor Margolies — translator, writer, and lover of border-crossing ideas, poetry, and performance. Some of you may know my work on Where Did You Get That Show? by Agnès Limbos and Veronika Mabardi, or Manifesto for a Modern Theatre by Patrick Dubost.
Now I’m thrilled to be working on two beautiful short books about object theatre — a form that uses everyday things (toys, tools, kitchen utensils) to tell stories both playful and profound.
The books
Object Theatre: Notes, Quotes, Exercises by Gyula Molnár (translated by Alison Tunley), with an introduction by Sean Myatt.
In Search of Object Theatre by Christian Carrignon and Jean-Luc Mattéoli (translated by me).
Both are steeped in practice, illustrated with drawings and production notes, and filled with insights into theatre-making, memoir, and philosophy. As Sean Myatt says, there’s something here for everyone who works with space, narrative, and materiality — puppeteers, architects, teachers, filmmakers, and anyone who has ever picked up a kitchen utensil and imagined a story.
Why now
Books on object theatre in English are rare as hen’s teeth. These two translations will bring vital perspectives to an international readership. Our goal is to launch them at the Charleville-Mézières puppet festival (19–28 September 2025), the world’s largest celebration of puppetry and visual theatre.
To get there, I need your support to fund translation, printing, and distribution.
How you can help
Back the project by pre-ordering the books at cost price: Kickstarter link
Choose a reward — from having your name printed in the book to a mystery package (two books + a small object chosen just for you).
Share the campaign with colleagues, students, and anyone who loves stories told with objects.
This is a small but ambitious project: two slim volumes that open vast imaginative worlds. With your help, they’ll be ready to take their place on bookshelves (and in hands) this autumn.
Thank you for reading, for sharing, and for helping bring object theatre into English.
Warmly,
Eleanor