With Alain Recoing disappears a major figure of the art of puppetry in France.
From 1948 until his last moments, this director, actor and puppeteer lived only and for the puppet. Trained by Gaston Baty, he then founded his own company, the Theatre with bare hands, a place of creation entirely dedicated to this discipline. He had restored all his nobility to the art of puppetry through his creations for adults and children that were shown both in France and abroad. He also established a long collaboration with Antoine Vitez at the Théâtre des Nations, the Théâtre Quotidien de Marseille, the Théâtre des Quartiers d'Ivry and the Théâtre National de Chaillot, and created the television program Martin-Martine.
A tireless defender of the art of puppetry, this activist had contributed, as secretary general of the Syndicat national des arts de la marionnette, then as founding member and President of the National Puppetry Centre to the vitality and recognition of this profession. If he had passed on the artistic direction of Bare-handed theatreIn 2007, his son Eloi, who had also devoted himself passionately to teaching puppetry, continued to lead training workshops, with the intact desire to transmit. In 2011, the International Puppetry Institute awarded him the International Transmission Award at the Charleville-Mézières World Puppetry Festival.
My thoughts go out to his wife and sons, all of whom carry their father’s fine commitment to their artistic careers.