Half a century ago, the first puppets came to life in Lutsk, Ukraine. Since then, they have been telling stories that grow alongside the city. For 50 years, the Volyn Academic Regional Puppet Theatre has become a source of warm childhood memories for generations of Lutsk residents.
March 16 – 22, puppeteers from different cities of Ukraine draw even closer to the community through the literary and dramaturgical residency “The City of Puppets”. This large-scale project merged several landmark events for Ukrainian puppetry, gathering playwrights, directors, actors, scholars, students, and audiences into a single creative ecosystem.
The residency marks the anniversary of the Volyn Academic Regional Puppet Theatre, transforming the city into a hub for theatre enthusiasts. Throughout the week, participants shared expertise, held play readings, showcased performances for children and adults, and reflected on the current state and future of puppet theatre.
A central pillar of the residency was the DocuPup, initiated by NGO “UNIMA Ukraine”, the project which is focused on creating new plays for children and teenagers in the genre of “puppet biopics” – staged stories about prominent Ukrainians. This includes both famous figures and those whose names deserve rediscovery by younger audiences.
For the entire week, playwrights lived and worked in Lutsk. The residency served as a “living laboratory” for refining plays through public readings, discussions, lectures, and open meetings. Staged readings took place across various urban locations and turned the city into one vast stage, weaving culture organically into the daily life of the community.
Another vital highlight was the scientific conference “Puppet Theatre of Ukraine: Historical Dimensions and the Present”.
