Zagreb in the footsteps of puppets
When was the last time you saw a puppet play? Do you think of it as something just for children?
I am asking because I was guilty as charged for those thoughts until I visited countries with a long tradition of puppeteering for adults. In fact, most Croatians will consider puppet theaters as a pastime primarily meant for children. There are some shows for adults, but the truth is that Croatia‘s history of puppet theaters is recent. It didn’t use them as much as provocative art, which can serve as a tool for cultural and political changes. In Croatia, the start of puppet theater is indeed connected with experiences for children.
However, that has changed. For example, the international puppet theater (PIF) brings artists from all over the globe to Zagreb. This September, PIF took place for the 57th time! It offered some shows for the youngest - as young as 6-months-olds! And it also showed some 18+ plays. In almost 60 decades, PIF has welcomed around 1000 theaters and brought an incredible cultural exchange to Zagreb. PIF stands for Pupteatra Internacia Festivalo. That’s Esperanto for the international puppet festival. Fun fact: the festival was initially started by a student Esperanto club, and the official language of the festival was Esperanto. If you ask me, tio estas tiel mojosa - that is so cool! PIF always brings the puppets and a lot of joy to the streets of Zagreb when they organize their traditional parade in the streets.
Photo description: Photo by Ivan Špoljarec for PIF/International Puppet Festival
The festival has been here for almost six decades and is only here for a week within a year, but the Zagreb Puppet Theater is here all year round and has been here for much longer, since 1948. It’s the oldest Croatian professional puppet theater that employs around 70 people! This is just an assumption, but I think it gets the most individual visits out of all the theaters of Zagreb. Other theaters have their audience, but as far as I know, everyone visits the puppet theater at least once, at least when they are little. I saw some of their old plays dozens of times as a kid, and the images were carved deep into my mind. If you’re traveling with children, visiting it could give another level of depth and connection to your Zagreb experience.
Photo description: Photo by Zagrebačko kazalište lutaka /Zagreb Puppet Theatre
Still, this whole article wasn’t created for the festival or the long-standing theater, but because I am fascinated with a unique woman who lived in Zagreb for 20 years and joined the team of the puppet theater. Her name was Tilla Durieux, and she came to Zagreb during WWII. She lived in a beautiful mansion in Jurjevska Street. She was somewhat of an eccentric artist who had a career as an actress before and after her life in Zagreb. But here, she sometimes organized parties where she passionately recited German poets... and where they played with puppets. She created a few puppets herself, but she was mostly engaged as a costume designer.
Photo description: Tilla Durieux painted by the famous Renoir
She was also an art collector - not a dedicated one, more of an accidental one. She had a lot of influential acquaintances and eventually collected a significant amount of art and books that she donated to the city. A part of it is now exhibited in the Museum of the City of Zagreb. It includes her costume design sketches and a few puppets wearing her signature.
Let’s be fair and say that Tilla is far from being the most notable person in the history of Croatian puppeteering. Still, I like her because she seems a perfect symbol of this magical world: she was an artist who brought an intercultural exchange to Croatian puppet theater. She was peculiar and mysterious, like all the artists in the puppet theater that we don’t really know much about. She enjoyed playing with the puppets, so she was living proof that they were not just for children. With her parties, she did allow at least some people to understand the secrets of this strange craft, still mysterious enough that it sometimes feels it can be understood only by an eternal child.
Photo description: One of the Tilla’s puppet costumes. Photo by Muzej grada Zagreba/Museum of the City of Zagreb
Header image: The famous logo of the Zagreb Puppet Theater
Author: Iva Silla