Theater as Activism: Dr. Ben Hunt on Performance, Puppetry, and Animal Liberation

In this episode of the Our Hen House Interview, Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan sit down with performance researcher and theater maker Dr. Ben Hunt, founder of the Performing Animal Rights podcast and newsletter, to explore how theater, puppetry, drag, and creative practice can break through the psychological resistance that keeps people from engaging with animal rights. From vigils as unintentional theater to Watership Down, War Horse, and open rescue as performance, Ben unpacks how art can move audiences toward empathy — and where it still falls short.

• How street activism (vigils, open rescue) functions as a form of theater and performance
• Why creative works like Watership Down, War Horse, and Wicked resonate emotionally but often fail to connect audiences to real animal liberation
• The role of drag, puppetry, and mask work in helping people access “animality” and empathize with animals
• How fandom-driven activism (e.g., The Protego Foundation) turns fictional stories into real-world advocacy
• The ethical tension between using shock/disgust versus imagination and genuine intentionality in animal rights performance art

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr Ben Hunt is a performance researcher, theatre maker and animal advocate working at the intersection of creative practice, activism and human–animal relations. He is the founder and host of Performing Animal Rights, a podcast and newsletter exploring how theatre, performance and art can contribute to animal advocacy. His research examines how creative practice can challenge conventional representations of animals and help imagine more ethical interspecies relationships.

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