Plastic Heroes

Ariel Doron

Israel

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A tiger, a desert, a war. The battlefield: a simple table. Helicopters land, soldiers march. But the soldiers are made of plastic; all of the weapons, tanks and flying objects are in fact children’s toys, and the wild cat is an innocent cuddly toy. The enemy and the target become unclear as the boundary between fiction and reality blurs. Home is just a faded picture on a display where a Barbie doll listens to the call from the front line with a wistful smile. Plastic Heroes is one long violation of discipline, a grotesquely staged mobilization against war and the deformation of its major players – a satire of its means, rules and transfigurations, and a simultaneous deconstruction of its heroes.

The puppeteer and director Ariel Doron studied puppetry at the School of Visual Theatre in Jerusalem as well as film at the University of Tel Aviv, and is now one of the most popular puppeteers in Israel. He works in theatre as well as film and TV. His pieces are often satirical commentaries on topical social and political issues.