O as in on/off
O as in obstacle
O as in openmouthed
O as in offspring
O as in a horror puppet performance.
O as Little Otik is inspired by a famous Czech fairytale. The original story is about a family that cannot have children and so they carve a child out of a wooden stump: Little Otik. Unexpectedly, Little Otik comes to life and has such an insatiable craving for food that he eats his own parents and even an entire village.
Through unusual materials, our puppet performance explores possible new interpretations of a traditional fairy tale, a lovely — and sometimes terrifying — metaphor for our current, self-consuming society. We invite the audience to a universe of printed circuit boards and creatures made of old electronic components. But Little Otik is here, he’s terribly hungry and he’s getting out of control.
Audience: adult, children 7+
About the company
TMEL (or “putty” in Czech) is a group, an ensemble, a collective or anything that sticks together. Formed at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU) in 2021, brings together six students from multiple disciplines in the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre. O as Little Otik is TMEL’s first production.
