Discover more about the puppets, props and costumes

The bear
The hero puppet is Heracles the bear. We see Heracles grow from a cub to an adult as Achilles and Patroclus train in the glade with the Centaur Chiron. Adult Heracles is an oversized rod puppet operated by five performers. He’s made out of EVA foam and plywood with a rubber coating, a metallic paint finishing and his eyes will be made of cast resin. His head is made up of 44 pieces, each piece is individually heat sealed and shaped before being assembled by hand. Baby Heracles is a replica, one third of the size, his head is made up of 34 pieces.

Fire puppet
During their time in the glade, the Centaur Chiron tells Achilles and Patroclus the story behind Helen of Troy’s marriage to Menelaus and sets the scene for the war that is to come. Told late one lazy night after training around a campfire, Chiron manipulates the flames to bring the myth to live. With a unique Dead Puppet Society twist, this fire is made up of 36 individual flames. Each flame is a piece of acrylic that has been laser-cut and laser-etched. Dead Puppet Society’s Technical Director Scott Barton has designed an innovative lighting system that operates each flame’s colour and texture individually making it responsive to the action on stage.

Achilles' shield
Achilles’ shield is a prop of great beauty and detail. The shield was prototyped in miniature, and once the desired shape was achieved, it was reverted to its flattened form to create a flat pattern. A historical image of Achilles’ shield, which was sourced from early translations of The Iliad, was digitally traced, then etched on the laser cutter and cut into flat form. It was then heat formed and heat sealed, rubber coated, and painted with two kinds of gold paint. Finally it has been hand detailed with silver markings.