Festival programme 24
Festival Opening | Cie Focus & Cie Chaliwaté (Belgium)
Dimanche
Sunday
for 12 year olds and older | duration: 80 minutes | nonverbal
Written, directed and performed by: Julie Tenret, Sicaire Durieux, Sandrine Heyraud
Cast: Shantala Pèpe, Julie Dacquin und Denis Robert
Dramaturgy: Alana Osbourne
Lighting: Guillaume Toussaint Fromentin | Sound: Brice Cannavo
Scenography: Zoé Tenret
Puppets: Waw! Studios / Joachim Jannin und Jean-Raymond Brassinne
Stage management: David Alonso Morillo, Liane Van De Putte, Baptiste Wattier
Festival Opening Wednesday, 5 June 2024, 7:30 p.m. | Theater Erfurt, Main Hall
Thursday, 6 June 2024, 7:30 p.m. | Theater Erfurt, Main Hall
A family is about to spend their Sunday together, a family tradition. But the walls are shaking, strong winds and torrential rain rage outside and the storm has only just begun. Amidst this climatic chaos, the protagonists absurdly try to maintain a normal family life. Meanwhile, three travelling wildlife reporters are doing their best to document the apocalypse. They film, with what little equipment they have, Earth‘s last living species: three wild animals on the brink of extinction. Between dreamlike fiction and factual reality, the piece paints a witty and tender portrait of humanity surprised by the uncontrollable forces of nature.
Tickets:
Adults 28,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 23,00 Euro
Pupils, students, trainees, volunteers (up to 27 years) 12,00 Euro
www.auroranova.org/shows/dimanche
www.focuscie.be
www.chaliwate.com
Theater Waidspeicher (Germany)
The Steadfast Tin Soldier
based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen | adapted for the stage by Tomas Mielentz
for 6 year olds and older | duration: 40 minutes | in German
Director: Tomas Mielentz
Stage, costumes and puppets: Nadine Wottke
Music and Sound: Philipp Hiemann
Choreographic advice: Stefan Kirmse
Cast: Melissa Stock (Student of Contemporary Arts at the „Ernst Busch“ Academy of Dramatic Arts, Berlin), Karoline Vogel
Thursday, 6 June 2024, 10 a.m. | Theater Waidspeicher, Puppet Theatre Hall
An old kiosk full of wondrous things is home to twenty-five toy soldiers looking exactly like each other. Only the last one is different. He is missing a leg. But he is just as steadfast and brave as his brothers. He falls in love with the enchanting little toy-dancer who, just like him, stands on just one leg. But there is someone interfering. Or was it a gust of wind that blew the brave tin soldier off the window sill and down into the street? An exciting odyssey begins: the tin soldier rides through the gutter in a paper boat, meets a water rat and is swallowed by a fish. Will he ever see his beloved dancer again?
Tickets:
Adults 10,00 Euro
Persons entitles to discount 8,00 Euro
Children 5,00 Euro
School groups (up to 8 grade) 4,50 Euro
School groups (from grade 9) 5,00 Euro
Thalias Kompagnons (Germany)
When Ferdinand Goes to Sleep at Night
for 5 year olds and older | duration: 45 minutes | in German
Idea & Concept: Joachim Torbahn (paper and scissors) und Tristan Vogt (narration and accordion)
Cast: Kathrin Blüchert und Tristan Vogt
Composition: Peter Fulda
Director: Iwona Jera & Thalias Kompagnons
Thursday, 6 June 2024, 10 a.m. und 2 p.m. | Youth Theatre Die Schotte
Little Ferdinand can’t fall asleep. His room is so scary in the dark: the chest of drawers turns into a monster, the curtain swims through the wallpaper like a fish, and why can he suddenly fly? Encouraged and accompanied by his cat, Ferdinand sets off that same night in search of the great magician behind the transformations. And makes a startling discovery ...
Every child has most likely been afraid of the dark at some point.
Thalias Kompagnons get to the bottom of this feeling. With collages created live on stage and enchanting accordion music, they bring the objects in the children’s room at night to life and open up a magical cosmos in which the impossible becomes possible. A dreamy declaration of love to the adventures of the imagination.
Tickets:
Adults 12,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 10,00 Euro
Children (up to 14 years) 7,00 Euro
Kindergarten group / School groups 5,00 Euro
Unterwasser Theatre Company (Italy)
Boxes
German Premiere
for 8 year olds and older | duration: 30 minutes | nonverbal
Concept and direction: Valeria Bianchi, Aurora Buzzetti, Giulia De Canio
Artistic collaboration: Francesco Capponi
Software, circuit design and physical computing: Francesco Bianchi
Thanks to: Malu Costa, Romulo Chindelar, Lucas Popeta
Production: Unterwasser Theatre Company
Executive Production: Pilar Ternera / NTC
Supported by: Cambio Festival (Rio de Janeiro); Crossing the sea; Centro di Residenza della Toscana (Armunia Castiglioncello – CapoTrave / Kilowatt Sansepolcro).
Thursday, 6 June 2024, 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. | Theater Waidspeicher, Cabaret Hall
Friday, 7 June 2024, 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. | Theater Waidspeicher, Cabaret Hall
“Boxes” is a visual theater show, an installation made of “boxes” containing micro-shows and interactive games, which can be enjoyed by one spectator at a time. By peeping into the boxes through small cracks and openings, the audience is invited to experience a unique and personal journey into small poetic worlds.
The piece is an open project, which takes inspiration from the “Teatro Lambe Lambe” and from the effects and techniques of pre-cinema.
Tickets:
Adults 8,00 Euro
Children (up to 14 years) 4,00 Euro
Please note: For safety reasons, it is not possible to take bags and personal items into the auditorium. Secure storage will be provided.
Yael Rasooly (Israel)
Edith and Me
German Premiere
for 16 year olds and older | duration: 60 minutes | in English
Supported by and developed with Nordland Visual Theater
Written, directed and performed by Yael Rasooly
Co-director, Outside Eye: Neville Tranter, Yngvild Aspeli, Angélique Friant
Assistant director: Vanessa Valliere
Dramaturgical Assistance: Elizabeth Williamson
Design: Eduardo Felix, Revital Arieli, Aurora Majnoni, Ran Daniel Kopiler, Yael Rasooly, Jérémie Legroux, Einat Landau
Music: Iliya Maglnyk | Sound design: Ran Daniel Kopiler, Binya Reches | Lighting design: Boualeme Bengueddach
Thursday, 6 June 2024, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. | Theater Erfurt, Studio.Box
A singer is mysteriously muted and immobilised and can no longer perform. A silent secret is burning inside her. Yet she is not alone – a feisty and determined Edith Piaf is there to drag her out of bed and pull her back into life. Together, the unlikely duo conjure up a partnership of solidarity and tenderness, setting out together on a voyage full of grandeur and vulnerability, grief and victory, competition and compassion. Based on a true story Yael Rasooly performs the incredible struggle for saving and reclaiming one’s life and voice through art a one-woman-show with puppets, objects and singing.
Tickets:
Erwachsene 20,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 15,00 Euro
Pupils, students, trainees, volunteers (up to 27 years) 12 Euro
School groups 7,00 Euro
The Train Theater (Israel)
Louisa
German Premiere
for 12 year olds and older | duration: 50 minutes | in English with German surtitles
Story, Songs, Design, Performance, Photography and Animation: Iris Domany
Director: Ari Teperberg
Music: Daniel Sapir and Iris Domany
Artistic Advisor: Shahar Marom | Lighting design: Yair Segal
Construction: Galit Katan | Moon 3d Images: Marcel Schaika
Technician: Yonatan Broid | Produced by: The Train Theater
Friday, 7 June 2024, 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. | Theater Waidspeicher, Puppet Theatre Hall
In her small studio, a video and animation artist plays with her tiny collections, which you can see through her magnifying camera lens. Accompanied by her voice and acting, they come to life. They gradually build a unique visual world and a touching, funny adventure story about a girl who wants to find a friend. This girl, Louisa, like the other characters that will appear, is made of natural materials – twigs, leaves, or soft parts of a thorny tree from which the story begins.
The piece moves between the two intertwined narratives: the story of the play’s creation and the inner tale about Louisa’s journey. The show features puppetry, live photography and live music.
Tickets:
Adults 16,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 13,00 Euro
Pupils, students, trainees, volunteers (up to 27 years) 10,00 Euro
School groups 7,00 Euro
figuren theater tübingen (Germany)
_night.flowers
for 10 year olds and older | duration: 60 minutes | nonverbal
Character design and performance: Frank Soehnle
Composition und Piano: Søren Gundermann
Choreography: Karin Ould Chih
Costumes: Sabine Ebner | Lighting: Christian Glötzner
Friday, 7 June 2024, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. | Theater Erfurt, Studio.Box
Frau von Goldberg varies reality. She has different versions of her biography ready as well as about what might have happened to her husband. She has invited guests, including a puppeteer and a pianist, both specialists in uncovering hidden stories, to examine her mysterious piano. It should hold far more than the usual interior made of wood, metal and felt.
The pianist and composer Søren Gundermann and puppet artist Frank Soehnle present an evening between concert and theatre. In a dialogue between music and puppets, they tell stories about memory, longing and forgetting, about the transformation of objects and the blossoming of new possibilities.
Tickets:
Adults 20,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 15,00 Euro
Pupils, students, trainees, volunteers (up to 27 years) 12,00 Euro
School groups 7,00 Euro
Javier Aranda (Spain)
Vida
Life
for 8 year olds and older | duration: 55 minutes | nonverbal
Concept and Cast: Javier Aranda
Assistant director: Alfonso Pablo, Pedro Rebollo
Ausstattung: Pilar Gracia
Graphic design: Val Ortego
Management: Ana Sala – Ikebanah Artes Escenicas
Friday, 7 June 2024, 6 p.m. | Youth Theatre Die Schotte
Samstag, 8 June 2024, 11 a.m. | Youth Theatre Die Schotte
Two hands and the universe of a sewing basket: Handmade articles have their own personality, hands as part of a being, as leading players, as special beings that create movement, emotion and life.
A drifting basket, a trip: New life appears from any corner, from any basket; valuable, singular and unique lives. “Vida” is a nonverbal piece of theatre for an actor and objects, which tells us about the implacable and constant passage of time.
The characters in the story are born, grow up, reproduce and die before our eyes, which makes “Vida” a metaphor of our own lives, always moving forward, without any chance to turn back.
Tickets:
Adults 16,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 13,00 Euro
Pupils, students, trainees, volunteers (up to 27 years) 10,00 Euro
School groups 7,00 Euro
Trickster-p (Switzerland)
Book is a Book is a Book
For 16 year olds and older | duration: 65 minutes | Available in German, English, Italian or French
Conzept und realisation: Cristina Galbiati & Ilija Luginbühl
Voice: Gabriella Sacco (italian and english version), Dorit Ehlers (german version), Liliane Hodel (french version)
Dramaturgy: Simona Gonella | Artistic collaboration: Yves Regenass
Original soundscape: Zeno Gabaglio | Editing and mixing: Lara Persia - Lemura Recording Studio
Graphic design: Studio CCRZ | Assistance and illustrations: Arianna Bianconi | Photos and Teaser: Giulia Lenzi
Production: Trickster-p, LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura
Co-produktion: far° Nyon, Theater Chur, ROXY Birsfelden, TAK Theater Liechtenstein, BLICKWECHSEL - Festival am
Puppentheater Magdeburg, FOG Triennale Milano Performing Arts
Friday, 7 June 2024, 8 p.m. | Augustian Monastry
Saturday, 8 June 2024, 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. | Augustian Monastry
Sunday, 9 June 2024, 11 a.m. | Augustian Monastry
A fascinating and mysterious object, the book is almost magical in its nature: an apparently simple set of pages sewn together in the shape of a volume has the property of opening windows onto other worlds, transforming into a capsule that allows one to travel through time and space. In this immersive installation, the audience, equipped with headphones, moves through the pages, experiencing a deeply imaginative path leading on an actual journey made of images, words, sounds, and is invited to an unexpected experience.
Tickets:
Adults 16,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 13,00 Euro
Pupils, students, trainees, volunteers (up to 27 years) 10,00 Euro
Please note: For safety reasons, it is not possible to take bags and personal items into the auditorium. Secure storage will be provided.
Theater Waidspeicher (Germany)
Fiete and the Sea
based on an idea by Melissa Stock
for 6 year olds and older | duration: 50 minutes | nonverbal
Devising: Melissa Stock und Tomas Mielentz
Director: Tomas Mielentz
Stage, costume and puppets: Kathrin Sellin
Music und Sound: Andres Böhmer
Make-up: Nadine Wottke
Cast: Melissa Stock
Free diploma by Melissa Stock, Student of Contemporary Puppetry at the „Ernst Busch“ Academy of Dramatic Arts, Berlin
Samstag, 8. Juni 2024, 10 a.m. | Theater Waidspeicher, Puppet Theatre Hall
Fiete lives happily and contentedly alone on his little island in the sea. Everything has its own place here: the waves come and go, the flashing lighthouse shows the ships the way, and from its top Fiete can look far and wide into the world and watch the fish. Then one day, nothing is the same anymore. The sea changes, the water rises higher and higher and swallows up everything around it. Even Fiete’s island. When the top of the lighthouse starts to disappear beneath the waves, Fiete has to leave his home. And thus, he starts on a journey over the vast ocean, which is no longer as calm as it used to be. He searches among lost whales, ghost nets and useless carpets for a place where he can stay and find a new home.
Tickets:
Adults 10,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 8,00 Euro
Children 5,00 Euro
Laia RiCa (El Salvador / Germany)
Coffee with Sugar?
for 12 year olds and older | duration: 60 minutes
in German with Spanish fragments, English surtitles
Artistic direction, text and cast: Laia Ribera Cañénguez
Dramaturgy and Co-stage direction: Antonio Cerezo
Music (Live Performance): Yahima Piedra Córdova
Live visuals: Daniela del Pomar | Artistic collaboration: Leicy Valenzuela
Stage design: Marian Nketiah | Lighting design: Vanessa Farfán
Dramaturgical advice: Ruschka Steininger
Production assistance: Rodrigo Zorzanelli Cavalcanti
Production and Tour Management: ehrliche arbeit - freies Kulturbüro Leoni Grützmacher
Saturday, 8 June 2024, 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. | Theater Erfurt, Main Hall
Coffee and sugar – in their different states – define the stage environment. Using them, the history of German immigration to Central America and the colonial structures that still exist today are dealt with. At the same time, the everyday consumption of these two products, which are an integral part of the Western way of life, is also considered. With biographical fragments and historical sources, video art and live music, Laia Rica, who grew up in El Salvador and Germany, creates a performance of great visual strength and forceful content about the consequences of colonialism.
Tickets:
Adults 20,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 15,00 Euro
Pupils, students, trainees, volunteers (up to 27 years) 12,00 Euro
Theater Waidspeicher (Germany)
Gold Power Love Death – The Song of the Nibelungs
narrated by Frank Alexander Engel based on various sources of the medieval saga
for 12 year olds and older | duration: 80 minutes | in German with English summary
Director: Frank Alexander Engel
Stage design, costumes and puppets: Kerstin Schmidt and Frank Alexander Engel
Music and Sound: Sebastian Herzfeld
Make-up: Nadine Wottke
Cast: Melissa Stock (Student of Contemporary Puppetry at „Ernst Busch“ Academy of Dramatic Arts, Berlin), Karoline Vogel, Heinrich Bennke, Tomas Mielentz
The production was supported as part of a project sponsored by the Sparkassenstiftung Erfurt.
Saturday, 8 June 2024, 6 p.m. | Theater Waidspeicher, Puppet Theatre Hall
In the beginning there were gods, giants, dwarfs. And gold. An immense treasure promising wealth and power. But the gold is cursed. It brings no happiness to its human owners. In the end, everyone is dead. All of them? What about Brunhild – the legendary, once invincible, mighty queen from the far north? She is no longer mentioned in the Nibelungenlied after the quarrel with Kriemhild and the murder of Siegfried the dragon-slayer. In our version of the old saga, we tell her story. The story of unrequited love, of betrayal and hatred, of greed for enormous wealth and power, of loyalty and delusion and of a terrible revenge that leads to the downfall of once mighty kingdoms.
Tickets:
Adults 16,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 13,00 Euro
Pupils 7,00 Euro
Maribor Puppet Theatre (Slovenia)
Ferdo, the Giant Bird
German Premiere
by Andreja Peklar
for 3 year olds and older | duration: 40 minutes | in German
Direction and editing: Katja Povše
Visual realisation: Andreja Peklar
Cast: Vesna Voncina
Text: Katja Povše und Vesna Voncina
Dramaturgy: Tanja Lužar
Language coaching: Metka Damjan
Composition: Gregor Zemljic und Nina Šardi
Costume design: Andreja Peklar und Mojca Bernjak
Lighting: Miljenko Knezoci | Sound: Jure Auguštiner
Puppets: Darka Erdelji, Aleksander Andželovic und Andreja Peklar
Bühnen technology und Bühnen construction: Lucijan Jošt, Nina Šabeder und Branko Caserman
Costume tailoring: Mojca Bernjak und Nina Šabeder
Sunday, 9 June 2024, 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. | Youth Theatre Schotte
Ferdo the Giant Bird is much bigger than the others. But Ferdo doesn’t realise that he is different. Instead, he uses his difference to help smaller people. For children he is a climbing frame, and helps as a crane for the building workers. Tired and thirsty, he eventually drinks the whole pond dry and is thrown out of the city. He stays alone until he finds a new friend who comes to the rescue. “Ferdo, the Giant Bird” is based on the award-winning picture book by Andreja Peklar. It is a story about the joy that comes from helping each other.
Tickets:
Adults 12,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 10,00 Euro
Children (up to 14 years) 7,00 Euro
Vélo Théâtre (France)
Une poignée de gens ... quelque chose qui ressemble au bonheur
A handful of people ... Something which resembles happiness
for 10 year olds and older | duration: 95 minutes | in various languages, easy to understand
Concept, Scenography, Performance: Tania Castaing und Charlot Lemoine
Concept, Scenography, Lighting design, Performance: José Lopez
Concept, Music, Video, Sound, Light, Performance: Fabien Cartalade
Concept, Dramaturgy, Director: Catherine Poher
Stage design assistance: Nicolas Joray | Installations: Flop Lefebvre
Technical Support: Les Ateliers du Spectacle
Sunday, 9 June 2024, 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. | Theater Erfurt, Studio.Box
Happiness needs a path, like the one we offer ourselves when we begin a journey. It is on the path we travel, with the right to drift, with discoveries and pitfalls. What moves us when we go on a voyage? What are we looking for? What do we expect from the unknown, is it the contact with others? And if by allowing us to enter their lives, would they not enlighten our own? In this creation, Vélo Théâtre calls upon the memories of a handful of people they have met and questioned on the theme of happiness. The piece is based on their testimonies and their experiences.
In this immersive piece the spectators become travelers and are being guided on their journey by two station masters André and Luiz and by Luciano the musician.
Tickets:
Adults 20,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 15,00 Euro
Pupils, students, trainees, volunteers (up to 27 years) 12,00 Euro
Please note: For safety reasons, it is not possible to take bags and personal items into the auditorium. Secure storage will be provided.
Cie l’Alinéa (France)
Petites Histoires Sans Paroles
Little Storys without Words
for 7 year olds and older | duration: 55 minutes | nonverbal
Directors: Pierre Blaise, Alain Recoing, Christian Remer
Play und Music: Brice Coupey, Jean Luc Ponthieux
Stage design: Alain Recoing, Pierre Blaise, Christian Remer
Puppetry: Brice Coupey
Composition: Jean Luc Ponthieux | Lighting design: Christian Remer
Photos: Carlo Giesa | Production: Compagnie l’Alinéa
Sunday, 9 June 2024, 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. | Theater Waidspeicher, Puppet Theatre Hall
Three short stories: “Bag” is about three puppets discovering the myth of the Big Bad Wolf. “Little Sisyphus” is about a lunar character confronting the hand that manipulates him. In “Oedipus” the puppet forces its master to appear in public. The sequence of these three playful and demanding short stories invites us to discover the evolution of the glove puppet from the traditional form to a more contemporary appearance. If the thread of the narration is solid, the live work with the musician leaves the door wide open to a jubilant improvisation born of a fine listening between the two protagonists.
Tickets:
Adults 20,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 15,00 Euro
Pupils, students, trainees, volunteers (up to 27 years) 12,00 Euro
Continuo Theatre (Czech republic)
Hic Sunt Dracones
Here Are Dragons
for 12 year olds and older | duration: 60 minutes | nonverbal
Director: Pavel Štourac
Cast: Sara Bocchini, Katerina Šobánová, Ludmila Ješutová, Diana Khwaja
Visual Conzept, Bühnenbild: Helena Štouracová, Pavel Štourac
Music | Sound design: Jakub Štourac | Lighting design: Tomáš Morávek
Production: Zuzana Bednarciková | Booking: Nikola Križková
Sunday, 9 June 2024, 8 p.m. | Theater Erfurt, Main Hall
The performance combines physical theatre and animation of material and objects with the principles of visual art theatre. It is an excursion to an unknown area where nothing reminds us of our everyday waking life. It is a discovery of the areas that ancient cartographers refer to as “here are dragons”. A visual poem full of magic imagination, absurdity and the grotesque.
Tickets:
Adults 20,00 Euro
Persons entitled to a discount 15,00 Euro
Pupils, students, trainees, volunteers (up to 27 years) 12,00 Euro