Theatre is like a magic box full of spinning gears, moving cylinders, rotating handles and everything fits together. Behind the door of the administration department, the director’s office, in the workshop, in the lift, in the lightning booth… The whole place is full of those who participate in the creation of the theatrical wonder. Let’s seek magic in the ordinary, the people, the space. Embark on an adventurous quest into the midst of Puppetro and explore all of its corners – from the entrance hall to the attic. There are things happening all over the place, something shifts unexpectedly, someone somewhere disappears and reappears all of a sudden. Inanimate objects live their own lives. Cracks, recesses and nooks are populated by theatre elves. And all is connected by simplicity, charm and humour. Enter the world where puppetry is born. Hello, I’m Puppetro! And you?

Hello, I’m Puppetro! manifests INTERSECTIONS of puppetry and space. 

Concept: Katarína Aulitisová

Script: Collective

Puppets, scenic design, costumes: Ivana Macková

Luminous objects: Antonín Kindl 

Lighting design: Jakub Ťapucha

Director: Katarína Aulitisová 

Cast: Michal Adam, Juraj Čech, Miroslava Dudková, Miriam Kalinková, Frederika Kašiarová, Robert Laurinec, Margaréta Nosáľová, Dominik  Novák, Peter Pavlík, Ľubomír Piktor, René Sorád, Lukáš Tandara, Jakub Ťapucha, Daniel Bilský 

Hello, I’m Puppetro! is the third co production of director Katarína Aulitisová and scenic designer Ivana Macková for Bratislava puppet theatre. Their production RoundAround has received The Jury award for rich imaginativeness and sensitive perception of the child audience and The Award for directing. Aulitisová has created several site specific projects, the most significant one being “Begin the eviction” for the International Festival of Contemporary Puppet Theatre Bábkarská Bystrica.

Supported using public funding by Slovak Arts Council. 

Theatre is like a magic box full of spinning gears, moving cylinders, rotating handles and everything fits together. Behind the door of the administration department, the director’s office, in the workshop, in the lift, in the lightning booth… The whole place is full of those who participate in the creation of the theatrical wonder. Let’s seek magic in the ordinary, the people, the space. Embark on an adventurous quest into the midst of Puppetro and explore all of its corners – from the entrance hall to the attic. There are things happening all over the place, something shifts unexpectedly, someone somewhere disappears and reappears all of a sudden. Inanimate objects live their own lives. Cracks, recesses and nooks are populated by theatre elves. And all is connected by simplicity, charm and humour. Enter the world where puppetry is born. Hello, I’m Puppetro! And you?

Hello, I’m Puppetro! manifests INTERSECTIONS of puppetry and space. 

Concept: Katarína Aulitisová

Script: Collective

Puppets, scenic design, costumes: Ivana Macková

Luminous objects: Antonín Kindl 

Lighting design: Jakub Ťapucha

Director: Katarína Aulitisová 

Cast: Michal Adam, Juraj Čech, Miroslava Dudková, Miriam Kalinková, Frederika Kašiarová, Robert Laurinec, Margaréta Nosáľová, Dominik  Novák, Peter Pavlík, Ľubomír Piktor, René Sorád, Lukáš Tandara, Jakub Ťapucha, Daniel Bilský 

Hello, I’m Puppetro! is the third co production of director Katarína Aulitisová and scenic designer Ivana Macková for Bratislava puppet theatre. Their production RoundAround has received The Jury award for rich imaginativeness and sensitive perception of the child audience and The Award for directing. Aulitisová has created several site specific projects, the most significant one being “Begin the eviction” for the International Festival of Contemporary Puppet Theatre Bábkarská Bystrica.

Supported using public funding by Slovak Arts Council. 

Body and material – two elements in one space whose existence depends on each other. The world as a graphic model, a landscape of lines. Moving sculptures disappear as quickly as they appear. Their archetypal skeletons can be wrapped in meaning, or just let them go. The body pushes away into matter, the image into the mind, time bends. This intuitive physics demonstrates the most fundamental principles of being in the earth’s gravitational field. Thin skin is fragility, vulnerability, instability.

 In Thin Skin, the INTERSECTIONS of material, acrobatics and movement installation are in balance.

The performance won the International Jury Award at the 29th Czech Dance Platform. 

The performance is co-produced with A4 – Space for Contemporary Culture. 

Concept, director: Eliška Brtnická

Creation and performers: Alžběta Tichá, Eliška Brtnická, Filip Zahradnický / Lukas Bliss

Sound design: Stanislav Abrahám, Roman Džačár

Lighting design: Martin Špetlík

lighting technician: Prokop Vondruška 

Costume design: Tereza Kopecká

Materials: Prokop Vondruška

Producer: Cirkus Mlejn, z.s.

Co-production: DOX

Financial support: the City of Prague, Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic

Partners: KD Mlejn, Cirqueon, Diod Jihlava, Metropolis.dk

Photo: Anna Benháková

Video: Kryštof Čížek

ELIŠKA BRTNICKÁ

The trapeze artist Eliška Brtnická has long been engaged in artistic research in the field of contemporary circus. Her work is characterized by strong visual elements, she works with material and object. In 2017, she completed a year-long course in circus dramaturgy at the prestigious French circus school CNAC in Châlons-en-Champagne. She is also the dramaturge of the international festival Fun Fatale. She collaborated with the Bratislava Puppet Theatre as the author of the concept and director of the production Over the Edge. 

GALLERY

Welcome aboard Underseen flights. If you’re interested, the flight attendants will offer you a menu of fabulous stories awaiting you during the next hour of your flight. The stories don’t tell you anything? No problem. Sit back and let the wondrous artistry of the cabin crew take you on your final journey. The story is inspired by Andersen’s short story Om aartusinder, in which the author predicts the invention of the airplane. 

In EXIT, we are enchanted by the INTERSECTIONS of play with object and lively musical performances.

Directed by: Matija Solce

Music: Matija Solce, Ivo Sedlacek and Fekete Seretlek

Scenic design by Jana Nunčič, Matija Solce, Jiří N. Jelínek

Cast: Anna Bubníková, Pavol Smolárik, Jan Meduna, Ivo Sedláček, Jiří N. Jelínek, Matija Solce

Photo: Martin Bambušek

Photo: Theodora Fodorova

The production was created as part of the Puppets & Design project, supported by the EU Creative Europe programme.

Matija Solce

– composer and song arranger, puppeteer, actor, organizer and mentor of international music workshops Etno Histeria. Winner of numerous awards at prestigious international theatre festivals. Together with five puppeteers and musicians, they form a unique theatre troupe that has been performing on stages all over the world for many years. Inspired by traditional folk motifs and songs from all over the world, it uses, mixes, processes and transforms them into new, original shapes and compositions. Matija made his way into the Bratislava Puppet Theatre as the author and director of the production Deduško. 

GALLERY

Our Kamil might be a puppet, but he is not a fairytale character. Nor is he a puppet-like „plushie“. Our Kamil is a living being. That is how we perceive him and how we act with him. The original play, Kamil, was written for our theatre by renowned Polish children’s author Marta Guśniowska. Marta Guśniowska is one of the most frequently performed authors in Polish theatres for children, and with her special touch, she brings to life the worlds of animals and humans in a humorous, tender way. In our world, the co-habitation of humans and dogs is a hot topic. Almost every household has a doggy companion. What is it like to

have a dog? What does it mean for humans, and for dogs? Who learns from whom? Are we able to take care of each other? You will hear the answers to these questions personally – from Kamil the dog.

The creative team behind this performance worked under the lead of experienced children’s director Marián Pecko, and collaborated with a popular street- and comic artist from Prague, Toybox, who authored the stage setting.

Author: Marta Guśniowska

Translation, direction: Marián Pecko

Setting: TOY BOX a.h.

Puppets: Michaela Urbanová a.h.

Music: Róbert Mankovecký a.h.

Production: TOY BOX, BDNR ateliers under the lead of Katarína Mažáryová

Video stream, editing, projection: Samuel Mažáry, Dodo Šamaj, Martin Zemko

Lights: Pavol Bukovina

Sound: Marek Horváth

Photography: Andrej Brummer

Premiere: June 18, 2023

Length: 70 minutes (no intermission)

Cast:

KAMIL: Mária Šamajová / Matúš Hollý

VOICES:

KAMIL’S OWNER: Ján Kožuch a.h.

HIS DAUGHTER: Marianna Ďuranová

NEIGHBOUR: Ivana Kováčová

MRS IVETA: Marianna Mackurová

POSTMAN: Kevin Ivanko a.h.

TV PRESENTER: Terézia Šusteková a.h.

CAT: Ivana Kováčová

MORGAN THE DOG: Dodo Šamaj a.h.

DACHSHUND: Marianna Mackurová

Puppet Theatre at the Crossroads

The term “Crossroads” defines what theatrical means of expression the theatre chooses – besides the use of puppets all other forms of syncretic and alternative theatre. In its artistic and original work it searches for a contemporary theatrical language. Its repertoire is for children of all ages, including toddlers. In the field of theatre for adults, it transcends the boundaries and prejudices regarding the age addressability of puppet theatre with a quality repertoire full of socially engaged themes and various social para-theatre projects. It is the main organiser of the international festival of contemporary puppet theatre for children and adults in Banská Bystrica and its surroundings, Bábkarská Bystrica.

Realized with the financial support of the Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region.

GALLERY

A grunt. A squeal. A gunshot in the night. Thus begins a year-long scandal in the kingdom of Prasečov involving two thieves and a nun, a tyrant king, and the royal pig. Rok Prasete (‘Year of the Pig’) is an original tragicomedy for adults and family audiences (age 10+) featuring puppets, live music, and a tongue-in-cheek parable about the way everything falls apart (including the pig).

Concept: Zuzana Smolová and Peter Gaffney

Puppets & scenic design: Peter Gaffney

Performers: Zuzana Smolová and Peter Gaffney

Support: Sladovna (Písek) 

For adults and children ages 10+

 Waxwing Theatre   

Based in South Bohemia, and led by Zuzana Smolová (CZ) and Peter Gaffney (US), Waxwing Theatre creates performances that juxtapose puppets with the expressive potential of basic materials – clay and soil, sticks and leaves – to generate unique situations, characters, movements, and storylines. 

GALLERY