11 December, 14:00. 13 December, 14:00. THEATRE EXCURSION

JOURNEY INTO THE MAGIC WORLD OF PUPPETS. THEATRE

EXCURSION

St. Petersburg State Demmeni Marionette Theatre is the first professional puppet theater in Russia. It all started in December 1918 in Petrograd, when a group of artists and enthusiasts organized the State Puppet Theatre of Theater Department of the People's Commissariat of Education.

The theater shares its rich creative history with the audience. During the tour “A Journey into the Magic World of Puppets” actors tell about E.S. Demmeni's creative activity, legendary performances, roles and performers.

The first in the Soviet Union puppet performances based upon the works of classics — Pushkin, Gogol, Shakespeare, Moliere, Cervantes, Swift, and others — were staged in the Demmeni Theater. The first puppet play by Chekhov with a close-up first used by puppeteers appeared here, and the lighting became one of the decisive components of the performance. Premieres of the country’s first puppet shows on modern topics as well as puppet operas took place here, the first European puppet feature film was shot. These, and many other stories are told along the tour by the People's Artist of Russia, the pupil of E.S. Demmeni, Faina Ivanovna Kostina. The tireless joker Petrushka performed by Alexei Melnik helps her. The tour is held in the theater foyer among numerous puppets — witnesses and direct participants of the stories told.