Materia Magica is an international puppet theatre festival which was established in 1997 and at first was called by a different name – Karakumų asilėlis. In 2017 itchanged its name, significantlygrew in size and continued leading spectators into the visual multi-shaped world of puppet theatre with even more passion and devotion. This year we will all come together for the 10th time.
Puppet theatre in Lithuania is still somewhat unpopular among adults. Perhaps this unfair bias is caused by a false belief that puppets are only meant for children. Although traditional puppets, the ones we immediately picture after hearing the word, are only one type among a vast variety of others. In fact, puppet theatre begins when puppets or objects disappear from stage – it’s a miracle, when spectators start believing, when they don’t look, but see a new different world emerging before their eyes here and now, when details seen on stage fill with images and associations, gain weight and volume, when inanimate becomes animate.
That’s when puppet theatre happens.
Every year festival hosts aim to demonstrate the possibilities of puppet theatre and to prove how vast, contrary to a popular belief, its audience is. Puppet theatre speaking to the audience through puppets and objects can be relevant not only to children, but to everyone – toddlers, teenagers, adultsand seniors. Geographical, thematic and genre variety-based festival program will not only present famous works of foreign authors and reveal the possibilities of puppet theatre, but also bring up relevant personal and social issues, open discussions and raise doubts and questions. Plays shown during the festival will analyze what it means to lose one of the basic senses – eyesight; how deaf and mute people can hear music; how individual can resist the herd instinct; how in our search for new paths and challenges we just try to escape from ourselves.
During four days of the festival spectators will be able to enjoy fifteen various plays from the Netherlands, Israel, Greece, Germany, Poland etc. The program will include performances for children from 3 to 10 years of age, teenagers and adults, as well as free puppet animation showings for children and adults. Moreover, creative workshops will take place. Festival program can be found at Klaipėda puppet and drama theatres, Apeiron Theatre, as well as at Kultūros fabrikas.
At the age of easily accessible visual media we say – image is not everything. And we seek to prove it by inviting you to see what lies beyond sight.
Come and seefor yourself.
May 16, THURSDAY
12.00 p.m. and 2.00 p.m. Lejo (The Netherlands) HANDS UP! Performance for children from 4+. Klaipėda Culture Factory.
4.00 p.m. The Table Theatre (Lithuania) SIBERIAN HAIKU. Performance for children from 10+. Klaipėda Drama Theatre, Chamber Hall.
5.30 p.m. Jan Jedenak, Dekoltas Handwerk (Germany) SEANCE. Performance for adults. Apeiron Theatre.
7.00 p.m. Ari Teperberg (Israel) AND MY HEART ALMOST STOOD STILL. Performance for adults. Klaipėda Drama Theatre, The Great Hall.
8.30 p.m. OPENING CONCERT. Music Group Antikvariniai Kašpirovskio dantys. GastroPub Švyturys BHouse.
May 17, FRIDAY
10.00–10.45 and 11.00–11.45 a.m. FILM ANIMATION PROGRAMME FOR CHILDREN. Cinema ArleKinas, Klaipėda Culture Factory.
10.00 a.m.–1.00 p.m. and 3.00–6.00 p.m. Premiere. Šeiko Dance Company (Lithuania) LUMI. Performance for babies. Klaipėda Culture Factory.
12.00 p.m. Hop Signor Puppet Theatre (Greece) GIRAFFE. Performance for children from 6+. Klaipėda Drama Theatre, Chamber Hall.
6.00 and 9.30 p.m. tjg. theater junge generation Dresden (Germany) VISITING HOURS ARE OVER + DISCUSSION. Performance for adults. Klaipėda Puppet Theatre.
8.00 p.m. Duda Paiva Company (The Netherlands) BLIND. Performance for adults. Klaipėda Drama Theatre, The Great Hall.
9.00–10.30 p.m. FILM ANIMATION PROGRAMME FOR ADULTS. Cinema “ArleKinas”, Klaipėda Culture Factory.
May 18, SATURDAY
10.00 a.m. and 12.00 p.m. Hopeful Monster Theatre (Great Britain) HOPEFUL MONSTERS. Performance for children from 6+. Klaipėda Puppet Theatre.
10.00 a.m.–1.00 p.m. and 3.00–6.00 p.m. Premiere. Šeiko Dance Company (Lithuania) LUMI. Performance for babies. Klaipėda Culture Factory.
3.00 p.m. Krakow Figure Theatre (Poland) BILLY FOG. Performance for children from 10+. Klaipėda Drama Theatre, Chamber Hall.
9.00 p.m. Vilnius Theatre Lėlė (Lithuania) THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY. Performance for adults. Klaipėda Puppet Theatre.
May 19, SUNDAY
11.00 a.m. Ljubliana Puppet Theatre (Slovenia) AQUARIUM. Performance for children from 4+. Klaipėda Drama Theatre, Chamber Hall.
12.30 p.m. Thalias Kompagnons (Germany) CLAY, PLAY AND MONKEYSHINES. Performance for children from 4+. Klaipėda Puppet Theatre.
4.00 p.m. PuppetCinema (Israel) PLANET EGG. Performance for children from 7+. Klaipėda Drama Theatre, The Small Hall.
6.00 p.m. Puppet’s Lab Theatre (Bulgaria) I, SYSYPHUS. Performance for adults. Klaipėda Culture Factory.
