Left Hand of Darkness

Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival 2026

The Left Hand of Darkness is a new work based on the 1969 novel by famed sci-fi author Ursula K. Le Guin, wherein a lone human emissary to an alien world tries to facilitate inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. To do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the newly encountered, completely dissimilar culture whose inhabitants spend most of their time without a gender.

The adaptation was written and co-directed by Edward Einhorn, Artistic Director of UTC61. Puppetry and co-direction are by Tom Lee, Co-Director of the Chicago Puppet Studio and Chicago Puppet Lab, both divisions of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. Music and Sound Design by Michael Zerang