Ljubljana Puppet Theatre

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2012

The Ljubljana Puppet Theatre (LPT) is the central puppet theatre in Slovenia, running a varied programme of puppet and also theatre performances. Mainly – though not exclusively – intended for children and youth, the theatre encompasses both traditional puppetry as well as its many contemporary forms. Involved in various international endeavours and working with domestic as well as foreign authors, its productions are often included at distinguished theatre and puppetry festivals in Slovenia and abroad. Established in 1948, it is still actively shaping the development of puppetry as such.

The theatre organises the Biennial Festival of the Contemporary Puppetry Art LUTKE and co-produces the Golden Stick Festival, both taking place every second year. The Museum of Puppetry, another project co-founded by the theatre, opened its doors in 2015 and is stationed at the Ljubljana Castle.

Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana / Ljubljana Puppet Theatre by Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana on Vimeo

Background and notable performances

Established as the City Puppet Theatre, LPT emerged as a follow-up to numerous semi-professional puppet groups organised in the region since the beginning of the 20th century. The theatre fast developed its own mode of expression and soon became the leading puppet theatre in the then Yugoslavia. At first, the performances were based on the marionette technique, but later it also got engaged in the possibilities of hand puppetry. However, from the 1970s onward the theatre has been consistently trying to advance the technological and dramatic possibilities of puppetry, cultivating a captivating mixture of classical contents and experimentation.

Though it initially focused on works by Slovene authors, the theatre's most important early performances were adaptations of foreign works. One such production is the Žogica Marogica (Speckles the Ball), written by the Czech puppeteer Jan Malik, which remains unchanged in the repertoire ever since its première in 1951. Another timeless hit appears to be the Zvezdica zaspanka (Twinkle Sleepyhead), written by Frane Milčinski - Ježek and in the repertoire since 1955. It was followed by the eponymous film, the first Yugoslav colour marionette film, which greatly contributed to its huge success.

Doktor Faust (Doctor Faustus) is based on the motifs from the first Slovene production of the play (1938) by Milan Klemenčič, the founder of Slovene puppetry, after whom the most prominent Slovene award for achievement in puppetry is named (the Klemenčič Award). The slightly refreshed performance still uses puppets from the original staging.

Granny with the drums and Granddad with the lajna instrument, joined by Speckles the Ball who has flown in through the window. The puppets were fabricated by Jan Malik, the performance saw its première at the City Puppet Theatre (today's Ljubljana Puppet Theatre) in 1951 and became immensely popular around Slovenia.

Programme

The repertory programme of the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre is divided into two segments: puppet performances and drama performances, with about twelve premières annually. The programme includes stagings of classical works, performances based on fresh texts by emerging as well as established Slovene authors (Svetlana Makarovič, Boris A. Novak, Anja Štefan and Silvan Omerzu among the more prominent ones), works by international authors as well as original, often multimedia performances. LPT collaborates with Slovene and international directors specialised in puppetry as well as theatre directors and even choreographers.

The theatre cultivates all the main puppetry genres (marionette, hand puppets, Javanese puppets, shadow puppets, mimic puppets) and also develops new ones. It also preserves more than 2000 puppets from past performances. It keeps an important collection relating to the Slovene puppetry heritage – see the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre Museum Collection, now partly incorporated into the Museum of Puppetry.

The staging of Virginija Volk (Virginia Wolf), based on the motifs from the picture book by Kyo Maclean and Isabelle Arsenault, 2017

Besides its regular performances, the theatre runs the Biennial Festival of the Contemporary Puppetry Art LUTKE and co-produces the Golden Stick Festival. Productions of Ljubljana Puppet Theatre are active on international stages and also often awarded. The theatre organises puppetry workshops and generally devotes a lot of attention to various educational activities through which it wishes to advance the art of puppetry. To this end, it systemically collaborates with schools across Slovenia.

Doctor Faustus performance staged in 2005 with the puppets made in 1938 by Milan Klemenčič. Directed by Jelena Sitar, music by Igor Cvetko, produced by Ljubljana Puppet Theatre.

The theatre is a member of the International Puppetry Association UNIMA, the first congress of which was held in Ljubljana in 1933, and then repeated in 1992 again (the Lutke festival was initiated on that occasion). It is also a member of ASSITEJ, the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People; Small Size, the international association focused on productions for early years (under six years of age); and is one of the founding members of NEECPA, a network of puppet centres joining primarily the key players from Scandinavia, the Baltic region and Russia.

Love dolls by Duda Paiva (Brazil/Netherlands), a puppetry/objects extravaganza with live music, coproduced by Ljubljana Puppet Theatre and Duda Paiva Company in 2009

Venues

Large hall, 253 seats total.

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Large hall, 2010

Small Hall, 100 seats total.

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Small Hall, 2010

Stage Under the Stars, 300 seats total.

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Stage Under the Stars, 2010

Culturoom, 70 seats total.

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Cultroom, 2010

Tunnel

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Tunnel, 2010

External links

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre website
Digitalised almanac Po stopinjah lesene Talije, 60 let Lutkovnega gledališča Ljubljana (in Slovenian)
A short history of Slovene puppetry, LPT web page
Ljubljana Puppet Theatre architecture - the history of the building from the Theatre Architecture in Central Europe web database
Twinkle Sleepyhead, a reconstruction of the 1955 puppetry performance, video

Gallery

Numeric's Art Puppetry Project supported by the Creative Europe programme is led by the Centre de la Marionnette de la Communauté Française de Belgique (BE), the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre being among the 3 partner organisations, 2017–2019.

Granny with the drums and Granddad with the lajna instrument, joined by Speckles the Ball who has flown in through the window. The puppets were fabricated by Jan Malik, the performance saw its première at the City Puppet Theatre (today's Ljubljana Puppet Theatre) in 1951 and became immensely popular around Slovenia.

Doctor Faustus performance staged in 2005 with the puppets made in 1938 by Milan Klemenčič. Directed by Jelena Sitar, music by Igor Cvetko, produced by Ljubljana Puppet Theatre.

Fran Levstik's Who Made Videk's Shirt puppetry performance conceived by Eka Vogelnik, Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2006. The performance had its 400th reprise on 9 November 2014.

Svetlana Makarovič's Vila Malina, which she co-directed with Brane Vižintin, Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2006.

Hübner Lutz's A Boxer's Heart puppetry show directed by Samo M. Strelec premiered at the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre in 2008

The Sleeping Beauty directed by Katarina Aulitisova and Lubomir Piktor, Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2008

Love dolls by Duda Paiva (Brazil/Netherlands), a puppetry/objects extravaganza with live music, coproduced by Ljubljana Puppet Theatre and Duda Paiva Company in 2009

Twinkle Sleepyhead (Zvezdica zaspanka), staged for the first time in 1955 but still in the repertory today.

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Cultroom, 2010

The Stones by Tom Lycos Tom and Stefo Nantsou, directed by Ivica Šimić, Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2010

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Large hall, 2010

Boris A. Novak's Little Luna and Big Luna directed by Vinko Möderndorfer, costumes by Alan Hranitelj, Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2010

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Šentjakob stage, also known as Šentjakob Theatre, 2010

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Small Hall, 2010

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Stage Under the Stars, 2010

The Four Musicians by Matija Solce, visual concept by Marianna Stránská, Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2010

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Tunnel, 2010

The Thief of Bagdad by Jan Zakonjšek, visual concept by American artist Utchenik Shoshanna, Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2011

Josip Ribičič's Black Cat Goes Courting by Jiří Vyšohlíd and Jelena Sitar, Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2011

Romeo and Juliet puppetry play directed by Jaka Ivanc, with puppet design by Miha Knific, coproduced by Ljubljana Puppet Theatre and Koper Theatre, 2011

Svetlana Makarovič's Kosovirs again! directed by Barbara Hieng Samobor, visual concept by Barbara Stupica and music by Nino de Gleria. Produced by Ljubljana Puppet Theatre in 2000; 2011 remake.

Maja Borin's Žužkerada directed by Jaša Jamnik, stage set by Vasilija Fišer, Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2011

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2012

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2012. At every full hour puppet of Martin Krpan, famous fictional hero in Slovenian literature, and his mare step out of interesting roof turret with a clock, which was put there in 1987.

Ana Hribar in the The Golden Shot, a monodrama on teens drug addicts written by Tamara Matevc and directed by Marko Čeh; Tunnel venue of the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, 2012

The staging of Nekje drugje (Somewhee else), a 'puppet' play by Tim Grabnar and starring Asja Kahrimanović Babnik, depicting the horrors of war through children's eyes, 2016

The staging of Nekje drugje (Somewhee else), a 'puppet' play for children that deals with the delicate subject of war, directed by Tim Grabnar, 2016

The staging of Peter Pan, the popular fairy tale staged as a play with dancing and singing. Inspired by the Noh Theatre, where the performers are passing on the role of narrator to each other, it was directed by Jera Ivanc, 2016

The staging of Peter Pan, a children's theatre play directed by Jera Ivanc, 2016

The staging of Virginija Volk (Virginia Wolf), based on the motifs from the picture book by Kyo Maclean and Isabelle Arsenault, 2017

The staging of Virginija Volk (Virginia Wolf), directed by the Italian director Fabrizio Montecchi, one of the greatest masters of Shadow Theatre, 2017

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