Istanbul to host world puppets

As part of the 13th International Istanbul Puppet Festival, World Puppet Day will be celebrated March 21 and the World Puppet Exhibition will open simultaneously. This year the International Istanbul Puppet Festival will be expanded to three months with the support of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture agency.

The March 21 World Puppet Day will be celebrated with a mini festival on the occasion of the Istanbul European Capital of Culture. During the opening of the festival, directed by Cengiz Özek, leading Dutch puppet group Duda Paiva Company will perform “Morningstar,” featuring video, dance and puppet show.

Also during the opening of the festival, Karagöz masters Tacettin Diker, Orhan Kurt and Metin Özlen, who have been regarded as “providers of cultural richness” since Karagöz is accepted as an oral heritage, will be presented a special award. On the same day, the World Puppet Exhibition will open at Taksim’s metro station and Kukla (Puppet) Istanbul venue. The exhibition will display puppets from around the world.

Foreign puppet companies and plays that will be featured at the festival will be Unia Teatr Niemozliwy “Toporland” and Tadeuzs Wierzbicki “Malei” from Poland; Dresdner Figurentheater “Psycho” and “The Story of the Little Much” from Germany; Slon Theatre “The Bewitched Phaeton” from Bulgaria; Yumehina Grup “Unjo” from Japan; Velo Theatre “The Postman” and Arkitel “L'oeil du loup” from France. There will also be many shows from Turkish puppet theater companies.

The puppet shows will be performed at the French Culture Center, Kukla Istanbul, Garajistanbul and Notre Dame De Sion. Also, with contributions from the Beyaz Ay Association, there will be puppet-making workshops for the handicapped children.

The 13th International Istanbul Puppet Festival will run from May 4 to 16.