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Puppetry in Uganda with Peripheral Visions International
By: Amy Fallon
Picture four Muppet-style male figures discussing the best way to stay in touch with their women as they tote AK-47s through a war zone in Somalia.
“I can send her an emojicon. I can send her, like, a smiley, and that is it,” one tells his friends.
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Things were never like this for Kermit and company in their day.
But then, “you’ve never seen a reality show like this,” says the female puppet who anchors Chicken and Chips. The new program on air in Uganda is putting topics “from gender issues to bedroom antics” and others not talked about publicly in the conservative country into the mouths of puppets.
“Imagine a puppet complaining about her husband’s drinking or spending her money on Waragi [a Ugandan gin] instead of school fees,” says the host.