This autumn is rich in anniversaries directly linked to puppet theatre

Puppet theatre troupe 1943

Puppet theatre, at all times, has been attracted by its resemblance to people's lives. The theme of personal freedom has always occupied the minds of all the philosophers of the world. In search of this freedom, man has compared himself to a puppet which is skilfully manipulated by strings. But, under similar conditions, the puppet has always had a great advantage: it can express what a human being is not allowed to express.

Allegories and the "miracle of animation" have enabled puppet theatre to transcend many centuries and devices of human life, without losing its appeal and fascination.

Puppet theatre troupe 1945

A puppet theatre production: "...and punishment"

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky, a key figure in Russian literature.

DostoevskyFest, a festival of puppet theatres dedicated to this event, took place in Moscow from 24 September to 2 October. The festival presented a special perspective on Dostoevsky's work - through the prism of the art of puppetry and for the first time brought together in a programme productions by Russian theatres based on the works of the classic!

Puppet theatres from Ryazan, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Naberezhnye Chelny, Vladimir and St. Petersburg came to the capital. The programme included premiere performances as well as winners and nominees of various festivals. In the foyer of the theatre, theatre puppets and characters from the performances were presented.

"The Gentlewoman is one of Dostoevsky's last works, the genre of which he himself defined as "the fantastic story".

The story is based on the relationship between two people, each of whom is on his or her own path of spiritual development.

"White Nights" The story unfolds in two dimensions: weightless puppets immerse the audience in 19th century St Petersburg, while at the same time the actors on stage live out similar feelings - already now.

The boy at Christ's tree

"Crime and Punishment. Pictures from a novel".

"A Scandalous Incident in the Passage, or Crocodile" based on a satirical short story by the classic.

The event generated extraordinary interest and gained the love of enthusiastic spectators.

The most popular and well-known puppet theatre in modern Russia is the S.V. Obraztsov State Academic Central Puppet Theatre. And on 16 September - it was his 90th birthday!

Sergey Vladimirovich Obraztsov - creator of the puppet theatre

The theatre's famous 'live' clock

It is the world's largest theatre, a member of the international union of puppeteers UNIMA. The theatre itself, its creator, artists, characters and puppets each deserve their own article.

But today we are talking about a unique artist:

As life shows, there are no ex-puppeteers

This is confirmed by the life of Nadezhda Vladimirovna Vinogradova, a marvellous puppeteer and World War II invalid, who has been living in the world of puppetry for nine decades.

Nadezhda Vinogradova was lucky to study under the legendary maestro Sergey Obraztsov, People's Artist of the USSR, who established the Central Puppet Theatre in Moscow in 1931.

Having qualified as a designer of fabrics and textiles, she joined the laboratory of technical aesthetics and, over the next fifteen years, she created puppets using various techniques, ran a workshop for making theatre puppets and staged performances for children.

Under the direction of Nadezhda Vladimirovna, the Children's Puppet Theatre "Petrushka" received the title "People's".

This year, Nadezhda Vladimirovna Vinogradova has joined the friendly staff of the Union of Artists in the Arts and Crafts Section of the Author's Doll Section. The connection between generations and an inexhaustible source of inspiration continues.

Photos are taken from open sources on the Internet.

With love and respect, Tatiana Kalinina 

Instagram @tatakalinyshka