Theatre troupes puppeteering skills once again on display in Zagreb

From August 28th until September 3rd, Zagreb will once again host the 43rd International Puppet Theatre Festival, the popular “PIF.” Some twenty professional, as well as amateur, theatre troupes from Croatia and abroad will present their skills to the Zagreb audience and, as always, the audience will have an opportunity to enjoy original stories with puppets as main protagonists.

The 43rd International Puppet Theatre Festival, the popular “PIF”, will be held in Zagreb between August 28th and September 3rd. The Croatian capital will be host to the best puppet theatres from Croatia and the world and some twenty professional, as well as amateur, theatres and troupes are expected to attend. As always, the Zagreb audience will have a great opportunity to enjoy many original plays with puppets as the main protagonists.

The festival was founded in 1968 by members of Zagreb’s Student Esperanto Club, who named it Pupteatra Internacia Festivalo. Nowadays, it is organized by members of the International Cultural Centre, headquartered in Zagreb, who have adopted the legacy of the name and promotion in Esperanto.

Whilst selecting plays from the many scripts that arrive each year, organizers strive to choose twenty plays from some ten different countries, making sure that as many distinct viewpoints of the art form are represented. In addition, each year has a different theme; this year it is the javajka. This puppetry technique is one of several, and it has several different variations, with the main feature being the head placed on a long pole.

In some variations, the javajka have nimble arms, which the puppeteer moves with long poles. In some, the puppets are hollow, so the puppeteer moves them with his or her hand, while the head on a pole is moved by rods. The largest number of plays this year will be performed by the javajka, but there will be plays performed using other techniques so the audience will, once again, have an opportunity to become more familiar with the diverse art of puppetry.

Apart from plays, which are intended for wide audiences, the festival will also feature an array of events related to puppetry, ranging from exhibitions, to seminars and puppetry workshops, to round tables at which professional as well as amateur puppeteers will discuss publishing activities and street programs, as well as many other important topics.
Plays and workshops will be held in several theatre halls.