Footscray’s Snuff Puppets set their sights on Bucharest

Footscray’s Snuff Puppets are taking their surreal body parts back on the international road.

The giant puppets will land in Bucharest, Romania, for a B-Fit Festival at the end of this month.

And in September and October, they will join the International Bio Expo in Cheongju, South Korea.

In the past two years, the giant human body parts have transformed public spaces and thrilled and startled unsuspecting audiences from Melbourne and Sydney to Chile, Denmark, South Korea and Sweden.

The massive hand, mouth, foot, nose, ear and eye are a playful exploration of the human form that roam public spaces.

Artistic director Andy Freer says adults and children alike “go crazy” for the weirdness of the disembodied body parts floating down streets.

“In some countries, people are quite reserved and respectful … sometimes they don’t know what to do,” he said.

Freer says the puppets respond to people’s reactions, and events often take a turn for the unexpected.

Their international engagement has been acknowledged with two Australian Arts in Asia Awards in 2013.

Before their next trips, the puppets are undergoing an extensive rebuild, due to the heavy toll of regular touring. Freer says further performances closer to home are likely towards the end of the year.