Di Filippo Marionette
Di Filippo Marionette is an Italian-Australian puppet theatre company founded in 2010 by Italian puppeteer Remo Di Filippo. Initially trained in theatre at the University of Bologna, Remo’s passion for puppetry ignited after discovering the “Casa Taller de Marionetas de Pepe Otal” in Barcelona, where he delved into the art of marionette construction and performance. In 2014, Filipina-Australian performer Rhoda Lopez joined the company, bringing her rich background in musical theatre, acting, singing, and dancing. Together, they craft their own marionettes in their Italian workshop, infusing each creation with meticulous artistry and personal touch.
Their performances are characterized by a wordless, cabaret-style approach, where each puppet narrates its own story through movement, music, live singing, and interaction with the puppeteers. Notable productions include “Hanging By A Thread,” a poetic and surreal show featuring seven distinct marionettes, and “Variations,” which follows the journey of Proto, a puppet exploring themes of technology, fragility, and self-awareness. The company has showcased their work in festivals, theatres, schools, hospitals, prisons, and retirement homes across more than 25 countries, earning multiple international awards. Beyond performing, they also organize puppet and street theatre festivals in their hometown of Offida, Italy, contributing to the vibrant cultural landscape of the region.
Their work is aimed at an audience of all ages:
“they enchant children and make adults dream”.
“Time is life,
and life lives in the heart.”
Remo Di Filippo
He graduated in Theatre History from the University of Bologna ( dams ). He completed his training in recent years with studies in disciplines such as Commedia dell’arte, the neutral mask, the larval mask, magic, pantomime, voice and movement on stage.
He worked as an actor with several Italian companies in 2010 and then entered the world of puppetry with the discovery of a small and fascinating laboratory hidden in the center of Barcelona: “House Workshop Puppets of Pepe Otal”. In this theater-laboratory, he discovers the nobility of wood, and its infinite faces, and rediscovers the threads that bind him to his childhood. So with such an illusion Gino, his first puppets, is born. Since then the desire to build and investigate increases and inevitably even the puppets multiply.
In his training on the marionette he meets and studies with the Catalan marionettists Lope De Alberdi and Litus Cuc, and the English puppeteer Stephen Mottram. He collaborates for about 3 years with the company “Zero En Conducta”, in particular with the Valencian artist Jose Antonio Putxades (Putxa) deepening the language of movement and the direct manipulation of puppets and scenic objects.
Many people help him in the company with their work and their friendship, forming a great family together.
For this reason the company is called “Di Filippo Marionette”.
Rhoda Lopez
Born in the Philippines, childhood in Zambia, lived in Perth Western Australia and one year in Belgium on Rotary Exchange, Rhoda’s love of the arts stems from her varied upbringing and an innate desire to entertain. She arrived in Italy thanks to and with the musical roving trio The Sirens (www.redtopcreations.com). A graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Theatre, she has worked on many stage productions as an actress, singer, dancer and emcee. She has been awarded Best Actress for her work in “Lorelei”, an original musical, and has also worked on screen including a TV film “The Great Mint Swindle” and various TV series including “StreetSmartz” and “Marx and Venus”. Rhoda has worked with puppetry in various forms and on different shows including “The African Magician” with Barking Gecko Theatre Company and in the New York Fringe Festival 2014 in “The Warrior and The Princess” with Blue Moose Productions.
Rhoda is living her dreams with Di Filippo Marionette!
