JANNI YOUNGE PRODUCTIONS
“Mozart would have loved the fantasy and play…and Younge’s extraordinary larger-than-life puppets. The piece-de-resistance was when the egg “hatched” and revealed the female dragon, all 36-foot wingspan. The crowd roared its delight and gave a standing ovation.” The Daily Gazette, Seratoga Springs, New York
“Sometimes even the seasoned theatre-goers get to be surprised, elated and dazzled by the performance less expected. EMILY GAMBADE encountered such brilliance at Cape Town’s Baxter Theatre’s “Ouroboros”. ”– Emily Gambade, The Daily Maverick, South Africa
Janni Younge Productions (JYP) is one of South Africa’s pre-eminent Visual Theatre companies.
JYP has established its signature of artistic excellence through the use of finely crafted puppets within a live performance context. The marriage of the disciplines of Fine Art and Theatre is at the heart of the discipline of puppetry in general and Janni’s work in particular.
Theatre is always a collaborative process & Janni believes that a synthesis of disciplines and collaborative creation leads to some of the most exciting artwork. In the creation of the work she always seeks to draw in the skills of other artists including musicians, choreographers and the actors. The content of the theatre created by JYP varies greatly. Ranging from socially relevant political content to lighthearted children’s theatre. Janni’s passion for social development has seen her work through her company and NPO to open development and training pathways for aspiring creatives.
The companies productions include Origins, Lumka and The Firebird that toured in USA to venues including Ravinia and the Hollywood Bowl, Ouroboros and Take Flight, currently touring Europe and Wild Heart produced by Bialystok Teatre Lalek
Janni Younge is a South African director and producer of multimedia theatrical works, with an emphasis on puppetry arts. A past director of Handspring Puppet Company she currently runs Janni Younge Productions and UNIMA SA.
Janni creates productions that invest in fine puppet creation and manipulation as a language for interpreting the human experience. While she has an overarching vision for imaginative direction her creative productions are developed in collaboration.
Janni’s work has been performed widely locally and internationally. Recognition includes the prestigious SBYAA for Theatre, several Fleur du Cap awards, four ACTF Kenedy Centre awards (including best direction) and the Nagroda award for direction. As the Grenada Artist in Residence, UC Davis 2018 Janni co-directed an interpretation of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye with Margaret Laurena Kemp. In 2020 Janni created and directed the puppetry for Recirquel and Mupa’s co-production Solus Amor, Budapest.
Janni has an MFA in Theatre from UCT, a DMA from ESNAM, has taught in several tertiary institutions is a published author of works on puppetry.
