Minnie Rubinski, now in her eighties and living in a care home, looks back on her fantastic life. But what is real and what is fantasy – and does it really matter?
The Fantastic Life of Minnie Rubinski is exhibition theatre. Audiences enter a giant brain, hear Minnie’s fragmented thoughts and follow pulsing synapses to where her memories are stored. Her recollections from childhood to the present day are recounted through filmed vignettes with characters played by a cast of beautifully carved marionettes, placed in perfectly detailed period sets, inviting audience members to piece together her remarkable life story.
Created by a team of puppeteers, filmmakers, set designers and prop masters, the production is inspired by creative director Kim Bergsagel’s experience of her mother’s life. Adapted from fragments of phone calls and family anecdotes, the story is funny, sad and at times nonsensical.
Kim explains:
My mother, born in New York State in 1934, had a colourful life which according to her stories became more varied and diverse the older she got. Her careers ranged from being a classical pianist to an investigative journalist and by the time the COVID pandemic began, she was ready to save the world with her medical knowledge and believed the world was waiting for her to do so. The production was made during 2020-22 in recognition of my incredible mother.”
The Fantastic Life of Minnie Rubinski■
Walkthrough of the production at Vision Mechanics’ workshop space
"A journalist, mother, gallery owner, wife, writer, child, and saviour of the world from giant reptiles – there’s a lot to take in during The Fantastic Life of Minnie Rubinski, which translates the words and thoughts of one woman’s life, now living with dementia, and turn these glinting pieces of their personality into a scale-filmed legacy, utilising puppetry to craft an often surreal, though occasional mundane and domestic, world for audiences to walk-through…"
- ★★★★★ Corr Blimey
"...it’s perhaps the rich detail of that real-life origin that makes the Fantastic Life Of Minnie Rubinski such an outstanding piece of work; full of love for an astonishing woman, and profound recognition of all that this generation of elders have known and been, in their long lifetimes."
- ★★★★★ The Scotsman
About Vision Mechanics
Vision Mechanics is a visual theatre company, which leads in encouraging communities to cooperate in the creation of original high quality arts projects. Events are staged all over the country in both conventional and site-specific environments with a strong emphasis on cross-artform collaborations.
The core creative team is made up of Symon Macintyre (Artistic Director) and Kim Bergsagel (Creative Director). Symon and Kim both trained originally at Little Angel Theatre. During their apprenticeships they specialised in marionette work and although, over the past 35 years, they have gone on to create productions using a diverse range of puppetry styles, they have retained a particular interest in and affection for marionettes.
Credits
Creative Directors
Kim Bergsagel; Symon Macintyre
Writers
Eszter Marsalko; Kim Bergsagel; Symon Macintyre
Music Score
Ewan Macintyre
Musicians
Ewan Macintyre: Guitars, Percussion, Bass, Mandolin, Keys, Sound FX
Gabrielle Richard: Violin;
Karine Bouchard: Cello;
Simon Babin Bouchard: Trumpet; Nathan Bissonnette: Saxophones;
Arthur Smith: Drumkit, Bass, Guitar; Antoine Larocque: Keys, Accordion
Sets and Costumes
Ingrid Scholes
Sets and Props
Alice Knight
Puppeteers
Kim Bergsagel; Jessica Innes; Helen Belbin
Design Assistants
Daniel Tysen; Mandy Fitzsimmons; Annie Linfitt; Natacha Lee
Scenic Painter
Eve Murray
Filming and Editing
Symon Macintyre; Eszter Marsalko
Marionette Carving
Kim Bergsagel
Minnie’s Voice
Lois Markle
Funding
The Fantastic Life of Minnie Rubinski has been made possible through the generous support of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund: Sustaining Creative Development
When creating The Fantastic Life of Minnie Rubinski Vision Mechanics was able to offer three month long paid traineeships in marionette puppetry, set design, making and filming, to 4 emerging artists. This initiative was kindly supported by:
The William Syson Foundation;
The Golsoncott Foundation;
The Leche Trust;
The Hugh Fraser Foundation