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Puppet Theatre Highlights - At Home and Abroad - Nina Malíková

One of the most significant events in the field of puppet theatre this fall was the 7th Biennial Spectaculo interesse international puppet festival that took place from September 30 to October 5th, 2007 in Ostrava. The organizer of the festival was the Theatre of Puppets in Ostrava and the line-up of international guests included companies from Brazil, France, Israel, Hungary, The Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Slovakia and of course from the Czech Republic. The real stars of the festival were Neville Tranter (with his production of Vampire) and Eduardo de Paiva Souza (with his production of Morningstar). The five-member international jury included Nina Malíková (Chairman of the jury from the Czech Republic), Géza Balogh (Hungary), Zofia Dworzakowska (Poland), Pavel Uher (Slovakia) and Štěfan Kulhánek (Austria) awarded the main prize to the DRAK Theatre from Hradec Králové for the production of How Daddies Play (Jak si hrají tatínkové). Other prizes were awarded to the Alfa Theatre´s production of The Three Musketeers (adding another trophy to their collection) and the Theatre of Puppets with their production of From the Diary of an Ostravak. The international puppet theatre festival in Ostrava continues to receive more and more interest from spectators and the media.

Bloody Knee.jpg For the 17th time, the first weekend in November hosted One Flew Over the Puppeteer’s Nest (Přelet nad loutkářským hnízdem) showcase. This time, the festival was held at the Minor Theatre and was organised by the Czech UNIMA Centre and the Loutkář (Puppeteer) magazine. This year, 13 companies presented a total of 15 productions. The showcase is open to all professional (statutory as well as independent) theatre companies as well as amateur groups. The dramaturgy of the festival selects the “best, most inspiring and provocative” productions from the previous season. The ERIK Award is given to the Best Production at the end of the festival. This year, members of the UNIMA Centre and 33 experts awarded the Erik to The Alfa Theatre in Pilsen´s production of The Bloody Knee and Other Tales for Naughty Children (Krvavé koleno a jiné pohádky pro zlobivé) (written by Arnošt Goldflam, directed by Petr Vodička, see photo on left). The production of Lapohadky (Lapland Fairy Tales) or The Ice Techno prepared by the DNO Theatre of Hradec Králové (director Kamil Bělohlávek) took a very close second place, and third place was awarded to From the Jungle Book (Z knihy džunglí) - one of the new productions of the Minor Theatre in Prague (directed by Jiří Adámek). This is the first time that one company has received the Erik Award two consecutive years in a row. During the festival, the symposium on The Interaction of the Components of a Theatrical Performance took place. The event was prepared in close collaboration with the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Arts and the list of participants included an elite group of puppet theatre scholars from all over the world, as well as the teachers, undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Academy.

Supraphon published Skupa’s Classic Spejbl and Hurvínek Dialogues (Skupovy klasické dialogy Spejbla a Hurvínka) at the end of this year. The five-CD set is a comprehensive collection of sound recordings of Josef Skupa (1892 – 1957), intended not only for fans and collectors of the popular puppet duo, but also for the people not yet familiar with Skupa’s work. The sleeve notes include an essay about Skupa’s art written by Pavel Vašíček. The first recording dates back to the late 1920s and the last is from the mid-50s.

The Theatre of Diversity (Divadlo Rozmanitostí) recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Founded on September 1, 1987 by Jaromír Šnajdr and Jiří Středa, the theatre opened on October 10, 1987 with the production of Tell Me (Povídej), two fairy tales by H. C. Andersen directed by Jiří Středa. Over the past two decades, several dozen artists have worked with the theatre, including visual artists M. Stejskalová, M. Hejmovský, N. and D. Soták, P. Kalfus, I. Antoš, P. Zikmund, I. Marečková, P. Matásek and J. Milfajt. The list of directors includes J. Středa, J. Galin, Z. Říha, P. Polák, A. Klepáč and many others. Antonín Klepáč has been the theatre’s artistic director since 1996.

The 25th annual Titirijai 07 International Puppet Festival in Tolosa, Spain ended on Sunday, December 2, 2007. The theme of this year´s festival that ran from November 24th to December 2nd, was A Window on Czech Puppetry, that included the presentation of numerous Czech puppet productions and a series of accompanying activities (round table discussions, lectures, exhibitions) revealing the history and current status of Czech puppet theatre. The Czech companies who were part of the line-up included DRAK Theatre (“Flying Babies”), Naive Theatre Liberec (“Jack and the Beanstalk”), Alfa Theatre (“The Three Musketeers”), Theatre of Vít Marcík (“Bajaja”), Líšeň Theatre (“Robinson”), and Karromato Theatre (“Circo de Madera”). All productions, except the performance from Hradec Králové, were performed in Spanish (“The Three Musketeers” used subtitles for the foreign audience).

The long-awaited exhibition prepared by the Moravian Museum in Brno, curated by Phdr. Jaroslav Blecha and his team, received a great success and was admired by thousands of spectators over the course of the festival. The exhibition required almost five days to prepare and brings the public closer to the remarkable tradition of Czech puppetry from the end of the 19th century to today with displays of puppets and various artefacts. The exhibition will continue to the Palace of the Noblewomen at the Moravian Museum in Brno until the end of March 2008. For more information, see the Moravian Museum website.

The 5th issue of Loutkář (Puppeteer) magazine is dedicated to Miloš Kirschner (1927-1996) who would have celebrated his 80th birthday. Jiří Středa, his long-time collaborator, and Karel Makonj provide intimate insights into his work with the Spejbl and Hurvínek Theatre. The issue also contains interviews with Kirschner´s children – Denisa and Miloš Kirschner, who are also currently working with the Spejbl and Hurvínek Theatre. Kirschner devoted his life to both puppet characters.

For more information about the Puppeteer Magazine, contact Nina Malíková or visit their website www.divadlo.cz/loutkar