 Sept 25 - Sept 28

 Ljubljana

LUTKE, a biennial international festival of contemporary puppetry art, will bring 300 puppet artists from 14 countries to Slovenia's capital for its 17th iteration. The shows will be for both children and adults.

The festival will open at Cankarjev Dom with A Doll's House, a French-Norwegian co-production based on the famous work by Henrik Ibsen and directed by Yngvild Aspeli.

Performed in English with Slovenian surtitles, the show uses life-sized puppets and rich visuals to support the story and the protagonist's inner states.

The Ljubljana Puppet Theatre (LGL) will stage The Notebook, based on Agota Kristof's novel and directed by actress Mia Skrbinac in her directorial debut. English surtitles will be provided.

The festival will conclude with The Donkey's Mass, a 15-rated performance by French visual artist Olivier de Sagazan.

Children and those young at heart can look forward to shows such Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, a production by the Skopje Theatre for Children and Youth inspired by Astrid Lindgren's famous children's book, Kitsune, a non-verbal play by the Porto Puppet Theatre about the cycle of life and death and the pleasure found in the small everyday tasks, and About the World, a play by the Vilnius Theatre Lele inspired by one of the oldest myths about the origin of the world.

The shows will be staged at several venues, including the LGL, Cankarjev Dom, Glej theatre and Old Power Station.

The pre-festival events starting from 22 September will include workshops, an exhibition and performances by partner theatre companies.

For details, click here.