In this podcast puppeteer and academic Cariad Astles talks about how she got interested and trained in puppetry, before discussing her experience of puppetry in China and Africa. We explore why puppetry tends to be viewed as a practice for children in the UK (Cariad blames protestantism) before talking about a number of healthcare applications of puppetry including training medical students and nurses, in psychotherapy (citing an especially powerful project in Chile), health education including promoting empathy, in dementia and autism. Cariad concludes by speculating on how robotics and AI may impact puppetry and its applications in the future and shares her hope that its' value should be more widely recognised in the west, not least in ritual.

Participants:

Cariad Astles, Lecturer at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and at Exeter University. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cariad-Astles

Ken Barrett, artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Cariad's paper 'the Art of Puppetry Practice: Embodiment, Enchantment, Memory History' can be downloaded here: https://www.academia.edu/83808501/Puppetry_The_Art_of_Puppetry_Practice_Embodiment_Enchantment_Memory_History

Opening and closing music: Prelude to Brainland the opera by Stephen Brown

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram: @brainlandcollective

Sketch by KB.

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