Divadlo loutek Ostrava
Information
"The Ostrava Puppet Theatre" is the only professional puppet theatre for children and young people in the North Moravian region. It has been in Ostrava since 1953 and in December this year it will celebrate its 50th anniversary. In September 1999 the puppeteers moved from their residence on Masaryk Square to the new theatre on the Black Meadow. The theatre puts on four or five plays each year, addressing a wide spectrum of spectators from children of nuseries, elementary and secondary schools to evening audiences. Since 1995 the Ostrava Puppet Theatre has organised the international puppeteers' biennale Spectaculo Interesse, which has become a popular meeting of European and overseas puppeteers.
The theatre also devotes time regularly to disabled children. In a project called Therapy through the puppet the members of the Puppet Theatre and their puppets work with children with learning impairments, and the theatre also organises a weekly festival, "Theatre Fair without Barriers". This was first held in 2000, then again in September 2002 this time with international status. The Ostrava Puppet Theatre performs at international festivals ans has recently been in Warsaw, Bielsko-Biala, Torun (Poland), Banská Bystrica (Slovakia), Mistelbach (Austria), Chuncheon (South Korea), Ghent (Belgium) and Ljubljana (Slovenia). Since 1990 Ostrava puppeteers have travelled to France, Germany, Austria, Spain and the Canary Islands. Tomáš Volkmer has been the manager and artistic director of the theatre since September 2002 and before, he had worked with the theatre as artist and guest director since 1990.
Source:
11th International Festival Theatre Pilsen Booklet (Printed Edition)