Theatre Sans Fil performs “The Hobbit” Saturday in Schaumburg.
Journey with Montreal’s Theatre Sans Fil to J.R.R. Tolkein’s Middle Earth, as the company performs “The Hobbit,” the wonderful adventure of Bilbo Baggins on his epic journey to a new level of wisdom, staged as a marvelous adaptation with 48 giant puppets bringing to life Bilbo, Gandalf, Gollum, a 25-foot dragon and others. The single performance takes place at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 6, at the Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg. Tickets are $20 ($10 for children and students with advance reservations — call the box office and ask for the “Curtain Call” discount.).
The puppet theater company, whose name means “theater without strings,” was founded in Quebec in 1971 by Andre Viens. It takes its inspiration from the classical Japanese bunraku theater in which puppets are directly manipulated by camouflaged performers, rather than traditional marionettes, adding larger-than-life-size puppets, black lights, lasers and quadraphonic sound.
“The Hobbit,” created in 1979, toured Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore in the 1980s and ’90s. This revised production brings a new look to the show, suitable for adults and children over age 6.
For pre- or post-show dining, well, you’re unlikely to find any of the food and drink of Middle Earth in Schaumburg, but you can stay a little exotic at Indian Garden. For Saturday lunch, they have a $9.95 buffet.
