Pugg's Dream

Creative Process and Approach "Puggo's Dream" emerged from my first exploration of directing through pure physical movement combined with poetic text - a theatrical language completely unfamiliar to me at the time. This approach mirrored Puggo's own disorientation; just as he awakens transformed into a snail, I found myself working in artistic territory that felt foreign and challenging. The creative process became one of mutual discovery - both character and director learning new ways of expression simultaneously.

I developed the work through collaborative devising with my cast, allowing the physical vocabulary to emerge organically rather than imposing preconceived movement patterns. The poetic text created a dreamlike quality that matched Puggo's disconnected state, while demanding that actors find truth through their bodies rather than conventional psychological realism.

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The play explores environmental determinism - how our surroundings actively shape our identities, perceptions, and life narratives. Central to this is the paradox of environments serving as both sanctuaries and prisons, offering comfort through familiarity while constraining growth and self-discovery.

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Transformation through vulnerability runs throughout the work, examining how genuine change often requires losing familiar forms of being before discovering authentic selves. The piece also investigates the courage required to remain curious when transformation arrives uninvited, and how slowing down can reveal truths invisible to our hurried, habitual perspectives.

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 Creating Puggo became an intimate process of self-examination. His journey from village to forest paralleled my own transition from hometown to London - both of us navigating unfamiliar territory that fundamentally challenged our sense of identity and belonging. Like Puggo haunted by recurring nightmares, I carried awareness that comfortable routines can become creative and personal limitations.

The herbalist's wife in Puggo's story represents relationships and connections that feel safe but ultimately limiting. My own experience of leaving familiar environments taught me which connections could survive genuine growth and which required release for authentic development to occur.

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 As a young child, I was captivated by Kafka's work - his exploration of transformation and alienation spoke to something deep within me. Kafka's vision of absurdism, where characters find themselves isolated in a lonely world and left to struggle alone, became a foundational influence. This sense of beautiful, terrible isolation - where individuals must navigate incomprehensible systems and sudden transformations - directly informed Puggo's journey.

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Later, Dostoevsky's profound examination of human existence added another layer to my understanding. His ability to capture how time can feel both endless and heavy, where each minute carries the weight of what it means to be human, resonated with my desire to explore the slow, deliberate pace of transformation. Dostoevsky's characters face existential questions while trapped in circumstances beyond their control, much like Puggo awakening in his new form.

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These literary influences merged with my personal experience of displacement and change. The work was motivated by my belief that stepping out of comfort zones is essential for personal and artistic growth, even when it involves facing the unknown and parting with familiar connections. I was drawn to explore how disconnection from the familiar can paradoxically lead to more authentic expression and self-understanding.

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My fascination with moments when bodies communicate what language cannot express found perfect expression in Puggo's transformation - his snail form forcing communication through gesture, rhythm, and the profound weight of silence. Like Kafka's Gregor Samsa, Puggo's physical transformation becomes a lens through which to examine the human condition, but where Kafka found tragedy, I sought to discover the possibility of liberation through acceptance.

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Artistic Philosophy I believe that genuine transformation requires surrendering control and creating conditions for authentic discovery rather than forcing predetermined outcomes. This philosophy shaped both the content and creation process of "Puggo's Dream."

My work centers on the conviction that our most powerful theatrical moments emerge from patience - from sitting with discomfort until deeper understanding arrives. Through Puggo's deliberately slow movement as a snail, I explored how deceleration can become revelation, how vulnerability can transform into strength, and how losing familiar forms entirely might be the only path to discovering who we truly are.

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The play ultimately reflects my belief that authentic self-discovery often appears as loss before revealing itself as liberation, and that courage lies not in avoiding transformation but in remaining curious when change arrives uninvited.

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Production Details

Theatre Technis, 2019

Cast: James Holdsworth, Michael Molino, Camila Abrantes, Lana Helena Hulenic, Olja Mladjenovic, Milica Guceva, Viktor Toth, Tobias Lewis

Costume Design: Josefin Rickan
Photography: Frank Neze
Music/Sound Design: Die Kur
Director/Author: Jagoda Kamov

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