Puppet Festival in Dublin


Theatre is a part of our life. On stage we can see ourselves in past and future, and try to define who we are at the moment. It is true for both adults and children, for usual theatre and puppet theatre.

In comparison with usual theatre, puppet theatre is much cheaper but not less worthwhile. Using minimum of space and money, puppets, just like their living “colleagues”, can uncover human vice and show value of human joys. There is a good reason for the fact that the history of puppet shows counts more than 300 years here, in Ireland. And International Irish Puppet Festivals have been held since 1991. Following this tradition, late in April, there took place a puppet festival of this year.


puppet festival in dublin

Puppeteers from Spain, Great Britain, Netherlands, Belgium, Northern Ireland, Italy, Hungary, France and Ireland were demonstrating their art in halls and streets. Unfortunately, we managed to see only street performances by puppeteers from France, Belgium and Hungary.


puppet festival in dublin

Adults were melting with joy watching these performances, they were laughing, they were happy, and children even felt themselves participants in the fairy tales on the stage. How is it possible not to feel yourself to be in a fairy tale when a little puppet ballerina is dancing on your palm, or a huge puppet is playing a real ancient musical instrument.


puppet festival in dublin

There, on the square, there was a legendary TV trailer which took part in TV shows for children in 1968-1982. I think it stroke a chord of memory in parents and grand-parents of modern children.

It’s a pity, that because of lack of time we could not watch performances of other groups.