March 5, 2026 - March 6, 2026
The Fruit
Presented by Duke Arts Presents
“A love letter to a 1990’s childhood, a virtuosic bout of object manipulation, and a celebration of the strange magic of performance.”
VULTURE
Kayfabe is a puppet wrestling entertainment spectacular written, directed, and designed by Josh Rice. Table-top puppetry meets pro wrestling meets a rock show! High art meets low art meets Samuel Beckett! This frenetic frenzy of puppet wrestling action is an absurdist meta-fictional love letter to professional wrestling and puppetry.
Philosopher Roland Barthes wrote, “the function of the wrestler is not to win; it is to go exactly through the motions that are expected of him.” What is expected of a puppet when the persona of Dr. Kiss, and the tropes and trappings of the professional wrestling world are thrust upon them, as they barrel toward their destiny as the main event of PuppetMania?
Expect the unexpected when form meets function, when reality and fantasy collide, when the lines between real and fake blur—this is Kayfabe.
Appropriate for all audiences.
Created, Directed & Designed by Josh Rice
Performed by Madeleine Dauer, Rowan Magee, Josh Rice, Ash Winkfield & Emma Wiseman
Devised by Madeleine Dauer, Emily Grierson, Takemi Kitamura, Rowan Magee, Andy Manjuck, Rachael Shane, Ash Winkfield, Emma Wiseman & Josh Rice
Original Music by Chad Bradford
Stage Managed by Emily Grierson
Lighting Design by Rob Lariviere
Pizza Pizzes Animation by Jaime Sunwoo
Meatstick Commercial Directed by Damian Wiseman
Additional Puppet Design by Tom Lee & Jacky Kelsey
Additional Set/Prop Design by Vinny Mraz & Doug Hollinger
Additional Costume Design by Kathryn Hollinger & Nikki Gray
KAYFABE was presented and premiered at Dixon Place in New York City, May 30-31 & June 6-7, 2024, with support from the Jim Henson Foundation, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs with the City Council and New York State Council on the Arts with support from the Governor’s office and the NY State Legislature.
Support for this project comes from the Jim Henson Foundation (Production and Workshop Grants), Shake on the Lake, the New York State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Grant Program, and the Arts Council for Wyoming County Community Arts Grant. Developmental residency support comes from the NYS Puppet Festival, The Westport Country Playhouse, and the Studio Space Program at Target Margin Theatre.
JOSH RICE is a multidisciplinary theatre artist specializing in puppetry & improvisation. He makes work that is at once playful, absurd, and tragic, incorporating simple performer-driven spectacle, puppetry, live music, improvisation, and audience interaction. His work is heavily influenced by his life-long fandom of professional wrestling, comedy, and his training as an improviser.
His original work, Kayfabe—a puppet wrestling entertainment spectacular—was the recipient of two Jim Henson Foundation Grants (Production in 2024, Workshop in 2023), a 2022 New York State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Grant, and 2022 Arts Council for Wyoming County Community Arts Grant. The work was featured in Vulture as well as on NPR digital and All Things Considered. The show has performed for sold-out audiences at Dixon Place in NYC, the Chicago International Puppet Theatre Festival, and in Las Vegas during WWE’s Wrestlemania.
The Fruit
305 South Dillard Street
Durham, NC 27701
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*All high school and college students are eligible for student tickets with valid ID shown at event.
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