The Australian puppetry company Erth is preparing for a new immersive dinosaur show at the Sydney Opera House. The article provides a behind-the-scenes look at their workshop in Marrickville, where a team of artists and designers hand-craft highly realistic, large-scale dinosaur puppets using animatronics, 3D printing, and traditional craftsmanship.
This matters because Erth represents a significant, long-running artistic practice in live puppetry and theatrical design, operating for over 35 years. In an era increasingly dominated by digital and AI-generated visuals, the company consciously champions meticulous, hand-made artistry, aiming to create lifelike creatures that inhabit the 'uncanny valley' and achieve a powerful suspension of disbelief for audiences worldwide.