Founded in 1992 by Executive and Artistic Director, composer and theatre director János Novák, Kolibri Theatre for Children and Youth is the only professional children’s and youth theatre in Hungary which has its own company and performs for children from 0 up to 18 years of age. It has three performance venues: the big auditorium in Kolibri Theatre hosts comprehensive artwork productions for 6 to 12-year-olds, featuring actors, puppets, live music and varied stage techniques. The two smaller venues have a seating capacity of 50 each. Kolibri Fészek (Nest) is a theatre room for the youngest audiences staging early year performances and tales often combined with interactive games, while Kolibri Pince (Cellar) hosts productions for young adults. Related to the performances, the theater also offers reading sessions and theatre-in-education programs. Kolibri has a vast and varied repertoire of 33 performances per season: in the season 2016-2017 this includes 3 plays for babies, 19 for children and 11 for young adults. Within the framework of Platform Shift+ and Small Size – Performing Arts for Early Years Kolibri Theatre will create international co-productions as well.
On 3 September 2016 Kolibri Theatre launched the season with its regular open-air family event, the Kolibri Season Opening Festival. 8 productions from all around the country and beyond the borders of Hungary were invited to the festival. In memory of the legendary puppeteer and founder of the festival Henrik Kemény, puppet performances – including the host theatre’s performance Kippkopp and Tipptopp by Veronika Marék – offered the audiences full-day entertainment.
- 1. picture: Kolibri Season Opening Festival
On 17 September 2016 Kolibri Theater joined the nationwide cultural event Night of Theatres, and offered a variety of programs for families. “Beyond the scene” tours provided an opportunity for visitors to peep in the dressing rooms and other exciting places in the theatre. The Bear Called Sunday was performed in the evening on the big stage, where later actors and other staff members of the theatre recalled funny stories from their careers, accompanied by the Kolibri Big Band.
Following the festivals, Kolibri Theater held three premieres this autumn.
The Owl Who Was Afraid in the Dark by Jill Tomlinson is a puppet play about how to overcome our fears through experience, knowledge and love. Fear is a natural part of life, and it is normal for children to be doubtful and to fantasize about dreadful creatures; however it is also important to show them how these obstacles can be defeated.
Withoutfather withoutmother is a play written by a young Hungarian writer based on two classics of Hungarian literature, Frigyes Karinthy and Dezs? Kosztolányi. The play is about a teenage girl who whose parents are divorced, so she is left alone with no one to count on. She has only two true friends: Dezs? and Frici, two cats who, however, act really strange: they smoke cigars and cite literary works – and help the girl to get through hard times.
Based on Dostoyevsky’s same-titled novel, Crime and Punishment is a classroom monodrama for youth with an interactive drama education program. According to the frame of the performance the modern-day Raskolnikov has to give lectures on crime prevention in schools. In the first part of the play the protagonist is believed to be a real murderer. As the truth is revealed, the audience feels amazement and relief, and is given an opportunity to talk about the concept of sin.
- 2. picture: Without father without mother
Kolibri Theatre keeps flying to achieve one of its main goals: to make it possible for every child to see a theatre performance appropriate for her age at least once a year.
