Marionette Theatre

The Kiev Marionette Theatre has been transporting children to an imaginary world of talking puppets and fairy tales since November 1989, when the first performance of the new theatre, founded by producer and artist Mikhailo Yaremchuk, was shown to the public. Since then this rather small theatre with a chamber-like auditorium seating 100 people has been a destination for a lot of children.

Anyone who believes that the marionette theatre is only something for children is very wrong because at the Kiev Marionette Theatre the great plays, which can be found in the repertoires of "big" theatres, are performed. For example, the theatre presents the celebrated play Cherry Orchard by outstanding Russian writer A. Chekhov. The performance has gone done in the history as the first staging of this classical play by the means of a theatre of marionettes. Classical story, original music, imagination and magic of master puppeteers enchant the audience plunged into the marvelous atmosphere of Chekhov's drama. The original staging has been awarded with several prestigious prizes for the best scenography and for the best music and was declared the best performance of chamber scene of Ukraine in 2000. Another popular award-winning performance for grown-ups is "The House Which Swift Built". It is a unique puppet version of the legendary play by Grigory Gorin, where marionettes and actors play together creating the sparkling and exciting performance.

Among the plays for children one should mention "Little Red Riding Hood", "Golden Chicken", "Who Can Wake the Sun", "There was a Rolling Bag", bringing the favorite fairy tales alive for enchanted audience and touching upon the most urgent moral problems. The majority of the performances are aimed at family audience and children of 6 and more, but there are also plays appropriate for children at the age of 4 as well. The Marionette Theatre is an ideal way of introducing children to the great fairytales of Ukrainian and foreign writers. The Marionette Theatre, which has been working for more than 15 years, has become very popular not only for its performances in Kiev but also for numerous international tours. The Kiev Marionette Theatre has performed all over the world and makes regular tours and guest appearances in Russia and Europe (Spain, France, Germany, Holland, Poland). Whatever the performance, the Marionette Theatre is a terrific entertainment for children of all ages.