House of tales and storytellers
There are not that many puppet theaters in the Ukrainian capital. One of them opened recently, on New Year’s Eve — the Kyiv Academic Puppet Theater, which now occupies a most original and attractive building.
The theater premises started being built last winter, and within one year Evropeiska Ploshcha in Kyiv was adorned by a fairytale castle teeming with surprises for visiting children. The first floor of the castle, or rather the dungeon, attracts the young spectators’ greatest interest. Here dwarfs live and work, digging up treasure-troves. True, only adults think they are dwarfs because these toys are much taller and broader than some of the young visitors. Next door to the gnomes are real fishes that live in a huge aquarium installed along one of the walls. One floor up is a museum with all kinds of puppets. At one time they were used in performances staged by the chief producer Yuri Sykal. Now “retired,” these puppets entertain the audience during intermissions. The children love the colorful lanterns, murals, and the kids’ cafeterias.
This space is not just for children. The “fairytale castle” has two halls seating 300 and 100, respectively, modern lighting and audio equipment, and spacious stages, allowing the troupe to realize its boldest creative plans. So it is rather surprising that the core of the repertoire consists of remakes of old productions that cannot take full advantage of the company’s new technical features. Although they have been adapted to the new stage, these were private theatrical projects, because for a long time the theater did not have its own premises and was forced to lease various buildings. Since its founding in 1927, the address of this oldest puppet theater in Ukraine changed frequently. In various periods it was based on Khreshchatyk, Mykolayivska, Hrushevsky, Yaroslaviv Val, and Shota Rustaveli streets. One of its last addresses was on Berezhanska St. Needless to say, such a nomadic lifestyle could not have a positive creative effect on the troupe whose members had to tour with minimum stage props and performers.
Today the theater’s repertoire is quite large, but unfortunately there have been few premieres: Peter Pan and Lys Mykyta [Fox Mykyta] staged by Leonid Popov. Among the future premieres are Pan Kotsky [Puss in Boots], to be staged by Yuriy Sykalo, and Mowgli, which is being rehearsed by Leonid Popov. The theater has plans to restore an old production of the Queen of Serpents, based on the Lithuanian epic saga.
The theater plans to revive one of six productions for adult audiences, including Liubov, Liubov(Love, Love) based on Boccaccio’s Decameron. Children’s plays are performed only on weekends and afternoon matinees, so it makes sense for the management to create an adult repertoire. But “although the various stages are free on weekday evenings, the theater is not planning to rent them out,” says the theater director Mykola Petrenko. “We have intensive rehearsals on weekdays; we have planned a lot of premieres. We are also introducing a number of young actors to the cast... third-year drama students under the creative guidance of Leonid Popov. Right now they are practicing as students, but with time they may join the troupe, bringing a breath of fresh air. This would be very feasible, because the current cast mostly consists of middle-aged, even older, actors. To stage plays for children you need youthful enthusiasm and energy,” says Petrenko.
These days the halls are filled to 90 percent capacity. According to Illia Povolotsky, the head of the theater’s literary department, children love to watch tales that they already know well, like Cinderella, The Adventures of Pif, Doctor Ouch-It-Hurts. For classical shows like these the theater is always filled 100 percent.
“The main thing for us is to perform so that the children understand everything, so that they don’t have any questions about what is going onstage. Otherwise, a child will lose interest. Maintaining children’s interest is very difficult, but when kids like a performance, they are the most grateful spectators,” says Povolotsky.
Indeed, children’s applause is the highest award, particularly when it is deserved. After all, children need more than a forfeit in the shape of a fairytale castle; you also have to give them a play. Then they will want to return again and again to the world of fairytales.
