The 24th edition of the Puppet Theatre Revue, organised by the Rijeka City Puppet Theatre, will be take place this year from 4-11 November at the City Puppet Theatre and the Croatian House of Culture in Sušak.
We will get to enjoy puppet productions from 11 puppet theatres from Finland, Germany, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia. This year’s Puppet Theatre Revue programme will, for the third consecutive year, include a special programme strand entitled ECoC at the Revue which aims at showcasing the innovative and explorative nature of contemporary theatre.
The opening ceremony will take place on 4 November at the Croatian House of Culture in Sušak, and the Revue will begin with a play by the Finnish Livsmedlet Theatre, Invisible Lands, which forms a part of the ECoC at the Revue programme. It will be performed at 6 pm and 9 pm.
“All the plays of this year’s Revue thematize the hot topics of today having as much to do with children and the young as with us adults. These are stories of endless journeys and quests for better lives, spaces and lands away from wars, stories of apprehension and the children’s fear of the dark, of unusual friendships and imaginary friends, of intergenerational understanding, but also stories about those who cannot hear us, due to their hearing impairment”
, said Magdalena Lupi Alvir, Director of the Rijeka City Puppet Theatre at the presentation of the Revue programme.
As an accompanying part of this year’s programme the audience will be able to enjoy a few segments from an emerging play ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ which is a co-production of the Rijeka City Puppet Theatre and the Maribor Puppet Theatre, and which also forms a part of the ‘ECoC at the Revue’ programme. The audience will get to experience a part of the process of creating the performance, which will enable members of the audience to share their thoughts and suggestions, and thus have an impact on the play’s further development.
“Two other exhibitions will be held – 90 years of UNIMA, the International Association of Puppet Theatres (UNion Internationale de la MArionnette) and Puppets take over Croatia in 1920, which talks about the beginnings of puppetry in Croatia. As in the previous years, this year’s event will again feature a puppetry workshop and playroom for children. Given the fact that we greatly value the opinions of our audience, the Viewers’ Choice Award will also be presented for the third consecutive year. The Domino statuette designed by Vanja Cuculić, is made in such a way that each year it represents a different motif of Rijeka, and this year the author opted for the Dragon of Trsat which he turned into a toy“
, said Vedrana Balen Spinčić, expert associate at the Rijeka City Puppet Theatre, and added that all the accompanying programmes of the Revue are free-to-attend.
The Rijeka City Puppet Theatre, as one of the most prominent partners of the Children’s House flagship of the European Capital of Culture will participate on an equal footing with the Rijeka City Library, the Art Cinema and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in the creation and implementation of the programme in the physical space of the Children’s House which should open next year in the Benčić Complex.
“Together with our partners we have already implemented a significant number of programmes, and the whole thing will culminate next year. Our guiding principle was to enable the children growing up in Rijeka, the European Capital of Culture, to become the builders of a better world we all live in. This is why we are creating the programme with children and not just for them. I congratulate the City Puppet Theatre on this year’s exceptional programme of the Revue, and we are looking forward to an even better and more vibrant cultural programme next year”
, said Jelena Milić, Head of the Children’s House flagship of the European Capital of Culture project.
The Mayor of Rijeka Vojko Obersnel singled out culture itself as one of Rijeka’s key identities and added that he is looking forward to seeing it all culminate next year.
“There’s not a single doubt in my mind that, apart from world-class puppet shows, this year’s Revue of Puppet Theatres will also showcase some of the innovations coming from the world of puppetry. There’s no need for me to talk much about how successful this theatre is, I would rather let their numerous awards won this year and in the years past speak for themselves. They are the greatest endorsement of the quality and creativity of all the people employed there. I believe the opening of the Children’s House will create a better than ever environment for the implementation of children’s activities, and I cannot wait to see it all come to life next year”
, Obersnel said.
Sonja Šišić, Head of the Department of Culture, Sport and Technical Culture of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County pointed out that the Revue of Puppet Theatres has for years been inspiring, entertaining and bringing together audiences not just from the city of Rijeka, but also from our entire county.
“With its programmes showcasing a wide variety of cultures, and its significant contribution to the overall development of puppet theatre, this event has for a very long time now been educating the audiences and ennobling the wider community. I congratulate them on all their achievements so far”
, Šišić concluded.
Ticket sale and booking at the box office, by phone at 051 325 690 or by e-mail at blagajna.gklri@gmail.com.
Box office opening hours (Blaža Polića 3):
– 14 – 31 October: Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
– 4 – 11 November: Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. and from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
– on site, one hour before the start of the show
The 24th Revue of Puppet Theatres is organised by the Rijeka City Puppet Theatre, and co-funded by the City of Rijeka, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia.
The sponsors of this year’s Revue are Jadran galenski laboratorij, Jadran Hotels Rijeka, Brasserie AS and the IONA florist shop.
