Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) hosted a theatrical performance by Laurie Cannac titled “Wolfed Down” on July 9 and 10 at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), Segun Bagicha, in the capital.

Inspired by the famous European fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” by the Brothers Grimm, this was a “one-woman show” and presented entirely in English by the very talented Laurie Cannac and a whole universe of puppets.

Directed by Ilka Schönbein with Laurie Cannac’s design and interpretation, Wolfed Down was nominated for the Molières Jeune Public Prize in 2010. This “Gothic” version of Little Red Riding Hood builds an eclectic connection between the puppet and the actress’s body, explores its animistic power, and successfully combines poetry and a sense of humour.

The puppetry work of Graine de Vie, Laurie Cannac’s company, combined with the ideas of the great “alchemist” Ilka Schönbein, stands for a popular and particular form of theatre favouring emotion and breaking taboos with an illusionary art skill, using masks and her expressionist aesthetic.

Laurie Cannac is a puppeteer. First trained in the art of drama at the Théâtre-Ecole du Passage, led by Nils Arestrup and Alexandre Del Perugia, she learned puppet theatre just by playing in the street.

In 1997, she founded her company, Graine de Vie [Seed of Life]. She produced her first official show, “L’Homme de la Manche [The Man of La Mancha],” a highly personal adaptation of Don Quixote, directed by Alexandre Picard.