Chinese dragon puppet

This marionette, Chinese dragon, was created by New Zealand puppeteer Norbert Hausberg. It is from one of Norbert’s most successful shows - Mustava and the Kauri Giant. This was a show that toured throughout New Zealand between 1993 - 1995 and included about 500 performances in schools and community theatres.

Mustava and the Kauri Giant explores environmental and conservation concerns. In the show the Patupaiarehe saves the kauri from the woodcutter by giving the kauri the power to walk, but the underlying message is clear, 'we can't rely on the Patupaiarehe to save our environment, we have to do it ourselves'.