Opening of the Karagöz exhibition, which presents puppets handcrafted by Cengiz Özek - Turkish Karagöz shadow theatre master and puppeteer, popularizer of the art of shadow theatre and the Director of the International Festival of Puppet Theatre in Istanbul - and also:

• antique Karagöz puppets (late 19th, beginning 20th century)
• traditional handcrafting tools
• comparisons between Mamluk and Turkish shadow puppets
• illustrations of Karagöz in caricatures

According to the thesis of the most prominent researcher on the field, Prof. Metin And, Turkish shadow theatre came from the Mamluks during the 16th century. He believes that information in the book called Bedayiii'z-zuhUr jf vekaayiii' d-diihur, written by the Arab historian Mehmed b. Ahmad b. Ilyasü'l-Hanefi, proves this theory:

"The conqueror of Egypt, Yavuz Sultan Selim, hung the Mamluk Sultan Tumanbay II, 15th April 1511. at the Roda Island Palace in the Nile of Cize a shadow player illustrated how Tumanbay Züveyeyle was hung on his door and the rope snapped twice. The sultan enjoyed the show so much he gave him 80 gold coins and a dress and said, "Come with us when we return to Istanbul so my son also can enjoy the performance"".

1517 can be recognized as the year that shadow theatre reaches Constantinople as its the year the Ottoman-Mamluk war ends and the Sultan.

The Karagöz exhibition presents puppets handcrafted by Cengiz Özek - Turkish Karagöz shadow theatre master and puppeteer, popularizer of the art of shadow theatre and the Director of the International Festival of Puppet Theatre in Istanbul - and also:

• antique Karagöz puppets (late 19th, beginning 20th century)
• traditional handcrafting tools
• comparisons between Mamluk and Turkish shadow puppets
• illustrations of Karagöz in caricatures

The exhibition is an accompanying event for the 11th 11th International Festival of Puppet Theatre and Animated Films for Adults - Puppet is a Human too 2016.

A theatrical video clip in which the composition of Morton Feldman Rothko Chapel is extended to a theatrical work by associative images inspired by the work of painter Mark Rothko.

The intrinsic point of departure for the performance Rothko Chapel is the re-evaluation of the famous remark made by German philosopher Theodor Adorno in 1949: "To write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric." With this proclamation the philosopher investigates the role and significance of aesthetics after the unmasking of the humanity by the horrific acts that took place during the war.

concept Sjaron Minailo
light Maarten Warmerdam
production Studio Minailo / Feikes Huis
photos Saris & den Engelsman

A theatrical video clip in which the composition of Morton Feldman Rothko Chapel is extended to a theatrical work by associative images inspired by the work of painter Mark Rothko.

The intrinsic point of departure for the performance Rothko Chapel is the re-evaluation of the famous remark made by German philosopher Theodor Adorno in 1949: "To write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric." With this proclamation the philosopher investigates the role and significance of aesthetics after the unmasking of the humanity by the horrific acts that took place during the war.

concept Sjaron Minailo
light Maarten Warmerdam
production Studio Minailo / Feikes Huis
photos Saris & den Engelsman

Karagöz (meaning blackeye in Turkish) and Hacivat (shortened in time from "Haci Ivaz" meaning "Ivaz the Pilgrim", are the lead characters of the traditional Turkish shadow play.

The central theme of the plays are the contrasting interaction between the two main characters. They are perfect foils of each other:
Karagöz represents the illiterate but straightforward public, whereas Hacivat belongs to the educated class, using a poetical and literary language.

Although Karagöz has definitely been intended to be the more popular character with the Turkish peasantry, Hacivat is always the one with a level head. Though Karagöz always outdoes Hacivat's superior education with his "native wit", Hacivat's never-ending deluge of get-rich-quick schemes always results in failure.

There may also be dancers and various portrayals of non-Turks: an Arab who knows no Turkish, a black servant woman, an Albanian security guard, a Greek (usually a doctor), an Armenian (usually a money-changer), a Jew (usually a goldsmith), a Georgian (usually a boatman), or an Iranian (who recites poetry).

The play ends with conclusion, always ending with Hacivat yelling at Karagöz that he has "ruined" whatever matter was at hand and Karagöz replying:
"May my transgressions be forgiven."

A theatrical video clip in which the composition of Morton Feldman Rothko Chapel is extended to a theatrical work by associative images inspired by the work of painter Mark Rothko.

The intrinsic point of departure for the performance Rothko Chapel is the re-evaluation of the famous remark made by German philosopher Theodor Adorno in 1949: "To write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric." With this proclamation the philosopher investigates the role and significance of aesthetics after the unmasking of the humanity by the horrific acts that took place during the war.

concept Sjaron Minailo
light Maarten Warmerdam
production Studio Minailo / Feikes Huis
photos Saris & den Engelsman

The Karagöz exhibition presents puppets handcrafted by Cengiz Özek - Turkish Karagöz shadow theatre master and puppeteer, popularizer of the art of shadow theatre and the Director of the International Festival of Puppet Theatre in Istanbul - and also:

• antique Karagöz puppets (late 19th, beginning 20th century)
• traditional handcrafting tools
• comparisons between Mamluk and Turkish shadow puppets
• illustrations of Karagöz in caricatures

The exhibition is an accompanying event for the 11th 11th International Festival of Puppet Theatre and Animated Films for Adults - Puppet is a Human too 2016.

A Short Outline of Everything is a multimedia performance which tells the history of the world using unique theatrical language. Technology is one of the artists there – it cooperates with living actors and creators live. This 110-minute-long picture allows the audience to take a bird’s-eye view at our history, and to see both the greatness and weakness of humankind. The artists create images which seem to be taken out of the depths of human imagination, at the same time allowing the audience to take a peek at the inside of their workshop. The spectator will see the process as well as the effect of creating theater by living actors, visual artists, live directing and technology.

It is an unseen combination of visual and cinematic art with theater, thus turning the theatrical play into another genre: performative cinema. The central part of the performance is a camera which, installed above the stage, provides the audience with an uncommon perspective. They see actors on the floor and at the same time on a cinema screen – accompanied by scenography created live by a graphic artist. All the past physical boundaries are gone: the spectator can experience images from a microscope, view battle scenes or immerse in abstract images created "here and now", at their feet.

director Teo Dumski
live drawing Sebastian Siepietowski
live video effects Teo Dumski
music cooperation Kamil Dysiewicz, Maciej Zakrzewski
costumes Gabriela Budzyńska
choreography Jan Nykiel
producer Sławomir Chomiak
cast: Magdalena Bocianowska, Bożena Bukowska, Katarzyna Janekowicz / Anna Nowak, Agata Obłąkowska-Woubishet, Kamil Dysiewicz / Mateusz Kieraś, Przemysław Furdak

Two puppeteers on the run are bringing with them a massive weapon ofhilarity: they draw Polichinelle, the most famous puppet in the world and, with unbridled enthusiasm, get ready to perform a show of which exceptional qualities they have proclaimed. But, as planned, nothing goes as planned.

Welcome to the hilarious frenzy of a new version of Polichinelle where he appears in his most wild outburst, in an explosive rhythm, provoking roars of laughter that strike indiscriminately kids as much as adults. Because Polichinelle laughs at everything. Death included.

The Karagöz exhibition presents puppets handcrafted by Cengiz Özek - Turkish Karagöz shadow theatre master and puppeteer, popularizer of the art of shadow theatre and the Director of the International Festival of Puppet Theatre in Istanbul - and also:

• antique Karagöz puppets (late 19th, beginning 20th century)
• traditional handcrafting tools
• comparisons between Mamluk and Turkish shadow puppets
• illustrations of Karagöz in caricatures

The exhibition is an accompanying event for the 11th 11th International Festival of Puppet Theatre and Animated Films for Adults - Puppet is a Human too 2016.

Portraits of selected "Ony" drama characters by Marta Guśniowska.

The thesis was done at the Maria Grzegorzewska Pedagogical University, on the field of arts education, under the direction of Ph.D Maria Kiesner.

Puppets are the interpretation of the "Ony" drama by Marta Guśniowska. There were presented four crucial characters – Mother, Father, Princess, and the eponymous Ony. Problematic aspects of the essay refers to the child’s feelings in the context of the parents’ divorce, to escape into a world of its own imagination, oscillating between reality and dream. Puppets were made in paper mâché technique and from variety, colored materials.

A poetic show based on the novel by Eric Emmanuel Schmitt. A story about things we cannot avoid. How to go to the other side and accept the reality of us passing away? How to face a terminal illness and where to look for support? How to share our anxieties with our relatives and understand why they find it hard talking to us as if everything was fine?

Dealing with so many difficult questions and trying to find answers to living the last moments of our lives to the fullest. That is the story of Oscar and Pink Lady.

"Ecclesiastes" Oleksyi Kravchuk based on the Book of Ecclesiastes.
Performance for adults.

Each etude is a jar that will fill with experience of each. Experience of all in search for meaning of life. Meaning of life justified by fame, by serving to others, by wealth, by comfort, sacrifice, love, wisdom… but isn’t it all just fuss, just chase of the wind? "… Until the silver thread tears, and the golden round dish crashes and near the source brakes the jar, and brakes the wheel and falls in the well…" (Ecclesiastes 12: 6) … So what will fill our lives with meaning? Each etude is a jar that will fill with experience of each.

directed by Alex Kravchuk
set design, dolls Eugene Dulya
video art Alex Khoroshko
song director (folk song) Lyudmila Zborowski

The Karagöz exhibition presents puppets handcrafted by Cengiz Özek - Turkish Karagöz shadow theatre master and puppeteer, popularizer of the art of shadow theatre and the Director of the International Festival of Puppet Theatre in Istanbul - and also:

• antique Karagöz puppets (late 19th, beginning 20th century)
• traditional handcrafting tools
• comparisons between Mamluk and Turkish shadow puppets
• illustrations of Karagöz in caricatures

The exhibition is an accompanying event for the 11th 11th International Festival of Puppet Theatre and Animated Films for Adults - Puppet is a Human too 2016.

Portraits of selected "Ony" drama characters by Marta Guśniowska.

The thesis was done at the Maria Grzegorzewska Pedagogical University, on the field of arts education, under the direction of Ph.D Maria Kiesner.

Puppets are the interpretation of the "Ony" drama by Marta Guśniowska. There were presented four crucial characters – Mother, Father, Princess, and the eponymous Ony. Problematic aspects of the essay refers to the child’s feelings in the context of the parents’ divorce, to escape into a world of its own imagination, oscillating between reality and dream. Puppets were made in paper mâché technique and from variety, colored materials.

The exhibition is opened from Thursday to Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Entrance via box office hall (presale). Theatre tickets holders will be admitted to the exhibition one hour prior to the performance and during the intermissions. Admission free.

Further information about the exhibition available at the Grand Theatre - National Opera website.

Age 16+.

Petrushka is a traditional puppet character, who has brothers in different countries. Italian Petrushka has the name Pulcinella, which is translated as "chicken", in Holland he is called Pickelharing ("smoked herring"), in Germany he is Hans-Wurst ("fried sausage"), and in England he is known as Punch (one of the translations is "blow"). All these heroes have long noses, a hump on the back and they always hold a large stick, which is used to beat everyone. Our Petrushka also uses a stick from time to time.

This stick is a sign that, Petrushka as the whole nation, the whole country of Russia is never defeated.

The creators of the show are Anatoly Arkhipov and Larisa Baleevskih. They were the first actors, who began renewing this tradition in Russia in 1992. Since 2001 Petrushka has been to festivals in Poland, France, Austria, Croatia, England, Spain, Germany, Scotland, Denmark, etc. The play is designed for children from 4 to 15 years and adults. This performance is played in schools and kindergartens, streets and squares, at home and in the restaurant.

Thanks to Anatoly Arkhipov Dina Rubina's novel "Petrushka’s Syndrome" was written in 2013.
Today you'll see a special version of the show for adults (the option that has been played since ancient times).

In "I, Sisyphus" we explore the journey of man's eternal return to himself. Ever since Antiquity, philosophers have pondered the absurdity of human behavior. Whichever road one may take, whoever else one tries to become, whatever escape-routes one might venture, he always continues to return to himself. Human life is a repetition of one and the same action. Spiraling, same, predictable. And this constant action makes us meditate not on the meaning, but on the meaninglessness of human life.

The Karagöz exhibition presents puppets handcrafted by Cengiz Özek - Turkish Karagöz shadow theatre master and puppeteer, popularizer of the art of shadow theatre and the Director of the International Festival of Puppet Theatre in Istanbul - and also:

• antique Karagöz puppets (late 19th, beginning 20th century)
• traditional handcrafting tools
• comparisons between Mamluk and Turkish shadow puppets
• illustrations of Karagöz in caricatures

The exhibition is an accompanying event for the 11th 11th International Festival of Puppet Theatre and Animated Films for Adults - Puppet is a Human too 2016.

Portraits of selected "Ony" drama characters by Marta Guśniowska.

The thesis was done at the Maria Grzegorzewska Pedagogical University, on the field of arts education, under the direction of Ph.D Maria Kiesner.

Puppets are the interpretation of the "Ony" drama by Marta Guśniowska. There were presented four crucial characters – Mother, Father, Princess, and the eponymous Ony. Problematic aspects of the essay refers to the child’s feelings in the context of the parents’ divorce, to escape into a world of its own imagination, oscillating between reality and dream. Puppets were made in paper mâché technique and from variety, colored materials.

The exhibition is opened from Thursday to Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Entrance via box office hall (presale). Theatre tickets holders will be admitted to the exhibition one hour prior to the performance and during the intermissions. Admission free.

Further information about the exhibition available at the Grand Theatre - National Opera website.

The show inspired story of Umberto Eco: "Generał i bomba"

"Dla mnie bomba!!!" is a performance lab. The main character - a scientist with a variety of theatrical techniques tells him his story. Well… once in his studio he appeared strange guests. Very interested in the experience, which he did, and asked him many questions. As it turned out the knowledge they have gained in this way, they used to do the most terrible bomb in the world. The scientist, when he heard about this he decided to sneak up on bomb magazines…

It is a spectacle that very much depends on such small invisible particles, and that invisible is often more important than the visible.

written and directed by Krzysztof Zemło
scenography Ewa Zemło
music Jan Wyszkowski
on stage Krzysztof Zemło

Sometimes love is blind and other times…the lovers are invisible. "Allegro ma non troppo" does not have only one story but many. The history of a caress, the two faces of a hug, the adventures of a table lamp which writes to his belove illuminated by his own light, the experiences of a misterious being who is unseen but felt… All these pieces are to form a mosaic in which a couple does not know if they are dreaming their love or loving their dream.

A visual show that combines puppetry, objects and physical theatre in order to talk about this crazy being who walks blind through life hitting others with a stick and not caring who he hits, and who still deserves a tribute: Love.

The Karagöz exhibition presents puppets handcrafted by Cengiz Özek - Turkish Karagöz shadow theatre master and puppeteer, popularizer of the art of shadow theatre and the Director of the International Festival of Puppet Theatre in Istanbul - and also:

• antique Karagöz puppets (late 19th, beginning 20th century)
• traditional handcrafting tools
• comparisons between Mamluk and Turkish shadow puppets
• illustrations of Karagöz in caricatures

The exhibition is an accompanying event for the 11th 11th International Festival of Puppet Theatre and Animated Films for Adults - Puppet is a Human too 2016.

Portraits of selected "Ony" drama characters by Marta Guśniowska.

The thesis was done at the Maria Grzegorzewska Pedagogical University, on the field of arts education, under the direction of Ph.D Maria Kiesner.

Puppets are the interpretation of the "Ony" drama by Marta Guśniowska. There were presented four crucial characters – Mother, Father, Princess, and the eponymous Ony. Problematic aspects of the essay refers to the child’s feelings in the context of the parents’ divorce, to escape into a world of its own imagination, oscillating between reality and dream. Puppets were made in paper mâché technique and from variety, colored materials.

The exhibition is opened from Thursday to Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Entrance via box office hall (presale). Theatre tickets holders will be admitted to the exhibition one hour prior to the performance and during the intermissions. Admission free.

Further information about the exhibition available at the Grand Theatre - National Opera website.

Student films - "Trip", "Il Lusions" and "Misses Mortées"

The presentation combines two kinds of art - theatrical and visual language. Two spaces in which the main role is played by black-and-white images showing a boring routine in a poetic mood. Two parallel streams of time flowing in a different rhythm. There is no place for development of psychological features of characters in the spectacle – that layer of the drama is left to the spectator, a nameless neighbour participating in events which become a specific document.

a performance by Dorota Anna Dąbek
directed by Dorota Anna Dąbek
video and foto design Tomasz Taracha
music Grzegorz Małkowski
play Anna Ponieważ, Marek Tynda, Dorota Anna Dąbek, Piotr Stec

The house where Geronimo is hiding in Pakistan. An exact copy of that house in a military base in North Carolina. A third twin house in Jordan, where a film is shot. The largest manhunt in history. A Sheriff obsessed with a white whale. The boy band Take That drilling for a historic mission. Cowboys and Indians. Airplanes and beers. Copies, reflections, imitations and cheeseburgers.

Through its trademark language (scale models, video projections, video editing in real time and willing performers) Agrupación Señor Serrano presents a scenic western where reality and its copies are mixed, drawing a merciless pop portrait of the decade following 9/11, the seed for the 21st century. Come and see.

The Karagöz exhibition presents puppets handcrafted by Cengiz Özek - Turkish Karagöz shadow theatre master and puppeteer, popularizer of the art of shadow theatre and the Director of the International Festival of Puppet Theatre in Istanbul - and also:

• antique Karagöz puppets (late 19th, beginning 20th century)
• traditional handcrafting tools
• comparisons between Mamluk and Turkish shadow puppets
• illustrations of Karagöz in caricatures

The exhibition is an accompanying event for the 11th 11th International Festival of Puppet Theatre and Animated Films for Adults - Puppet is a Human too 2016.

Toporland - suite without words for Cardboard and Contrabass, inspired by the work of Roland Topor and Johann Sebastian Bach.

There was an roll of Cardboard. Animated by actors, like a film-band – rolling with the rhythms harmonized with contrabass, showing series of surprising scenes, hemmed of Roland Topor black humor.

Plastically processed by the inspiration of the work of the master of black humor, Roland Topor, a huge roll of Cardboard reveals his surprising inside. And with the rhythm of his life, with the round about the musical reality of the contrabass is being created live.

script and staging Wojciech Olejnik
music Bogdan Edmund Szczepański
stage design co-operation Violetta Halenka, Katarzyna Rogowiec