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ObieYoyotrademark copyright 1977 John Higgins
at UN's 50th Anniversary, Nicosia, Cyprus

   

Outer Sunset, San Francisco, USA

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NIGHT VISION PUPPETSimage  ... with ObieYoyoimage, Roscoeimage, Merkel the Wizardimage, Captain Cosmosimagethe Demon Brewimage, and others . . . are based in San Francisco,  primarily involved in street theatre and video performances.  The troupe was organized in 1974 and has performed in Spanish and English, with translations into Greek and Turkish, on television and in live performances, often busking on the streets. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the puppets appeared regularly on the local late-night WKEF TV show, Shock Theatre, with Dr. Creep (Barry Hobart) in Dayton, Ohio, USA.  

Live performances usually involved the use of the "walking stage,"trademark a framework of aluminum tubes covered with fabric that allows the puppeteer to walk among the audience.

Creator / director / performer John Higgins thought he had "hung up the stage" in the early 2000s . . . but the puppets pulled him out of retirement in 2007. A fellowhip as an artist/scholar-in-residence at Sidestreets in Nicosia in 2008 brought the puppets back to Cyprus after a 12 year interlude.

The last "walking stage" performances were in fall 2010 in the UN Buffer Zone and the Buyuk Han in Nicosia, Cyprus, during Higgins' time as a Fulbright Scholar with the Cyprus Fulbright Commission... but the puppets still show up from time to time on video, on social media, and in the neighborhood.

Photos and updated info are available on Facebook; the gang is also available on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

 

On This Site:

image Puppets: The Legend The mystical art of puppetry...

image History of  NIGHT VISION PUPPETS image  ( ... Geez, these guys 'been all over... )
      Plus archives and photo gallery

image Meet the Puppets! ..and the stage... Photos and introductions...

image Politics and Puppets. Story and photos of the NIGHT VISION PUPPETS image performance
      at the 50th anniversary party of the United Nations, Ledra Palace, Nicosia, Cyprus. October, 1995.

 

 

   ethcing: walking puppeteer-Carl Lindstrom circa 1836
 

 

creep and obieyoyo [tm]

Shock Theatre (1977-1980) Website

Shock Theatre YouTube Channel

 
etching by Carl Lindstrom circa 1836 Naples

  

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Cyprus 2010: sponsored by the Cyprus Fulbright Commission

Brochure in English
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Flyer in Turkish, Greek, & English
flyer for show

 

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Nicosia, Cyprus 2008
Fellowship/Residency at "Sidestreets"

 


Promotional announcement created by Johan Pillai

 

 

 

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  CONTACT:
John Higgins
San Francisco, California, USA
email: john [at] nightvisionpuppets [dot] org
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  • Graphics: Joanne Hasman
  • Lettering: Soozee Palsa
  • Stage structure design: Michael Higgins
  • Thanks:
    • Pete Seeger (from Obie)
    • MJ Niles (from John & the troupe)
    • Florence Backus
  • All pages of this site copyright John Higgins 1997-2021
  • Puppet characters, names, images [tm] and copyright John Higgins 1974-2020
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  update 7 March 2023  
 

Higgins Home Page

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