Ambregris

Pinocchio is a classic story about transformation. Nowhere is this more evident than in the episode in which Pinocchio finds himself in the belly of the whale, a pivotal moment in the tale in which the puppet is confronted with his maker and his own essence. It is inside the belly of this great whale the puppet begins his process of individuation before being spat out again into the world as a real boy.

Ambergris is formed from a secretion of the bile duct in the intestines of the sperm whale and can be found floating on the sea or washed up on the coast. Ambergris is set inside a giant perfume laboratory. Behind the doors is a charlatan perfumer who is obsessed with finding the perfect lump of ambergris in order to complete his great olfactory masterpiece.

The inside of this perfume laboratory resembles the digestive interior of a whale. The Quack perfumer dissects Iumps of ambergris before considering their inclusion into his formula for the perfect smell.

Ambergris charters the process of a base substance into its purest form, whilst following the psychological purification of our puppet hero.

Through its musical structure, Ambergris mixes play of string, shadow, hand and rod puppets, masks, and live perfume synthesis into an olfactory puppet operetta about being and its scents.

The program is part of the 10th Theatre Olympics.