Debrecen4U
September 4, 2025
An era comes to an end, and a new one is just beginning at the Vojtina Puppet Theatre
The Vojtina Puppet Theatre kicked off the autumn with an anniversary season, but it is not only the birthday that gives this year special significance.
“Work at the Vojtina Puppet Theatre started in August: rehearsals for the first performances of the 50th anniversary season began on August 18. At the theatre’s season-announcing press conference held on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, the company not only outlined the period ahead but also the beginning of an old-new chapter,” the puppet theatre’s press release states.
Anikó Asbóth, the director of Vojtina, formally announced that this will be her last season at the helm of the theatre. As of January 1, 2026, Terka Láposi, who has previously worked as the artistic director of the company, will take over the management duties. However, Anikó Asbóth is not leaving permanently: she will continue to assist the puppet theatre’s work as a puppeteer and consultant.
“These fifty seasons have been much more than work. A profession, joy, struggle, play, and teaching others, but primarily myself. I have learned that a puppet, no matter how small or simple, can live and teach us to live. And if we ask the right questions, it will answer,” Anikó Asbóth said.
The highlights of the anniversary season will be leisure, remembrance, crossing age boundaries, and connecting tradition and contemporary theatre. The company is preparing for eight new performances, three of which will be staged in the fall.
They also pointed out that the two dedicated performances of the 50th season are the fairy tale adaptation “Sánta kacsa, vak tyúk” (The Lame Duck, the Blind Hen), directed by Krisztina Hell, and “Zsoltáréneklő madár” (The Psalm-Singing Bird), staged by Terka Láposi. The folktale paraphrase “Nincs mese” (“No excuses!”) is presented under the direction of Anna Zorka Maróthy, focusing on the “bad guys” of the tales.
At the event, Deputy Mayor István Puskás highlighted that this year the Ministry of Culture and Innovation and the Municipality of Debrecen have signed another five-year agreement, underlining that this cooperation agreement fixes the financing of the Vojtina Puppet Theatre and the Csokonai National Theatre for the next five years.
In connection with the jubilee season, the theatre is preparing to publish a book, shoot a film with the founding members, and also organize a new children’s day puppet theatre meeting called the “MOST” Festival.
The series of performances will continue in January: the story of Tristan and Isolde, directed by Domokos Kovács, is prepared for those over 14, as well as the inaugural theatre performance entitled “Ugyanaz másképp – Kortársunk, Rómeó és Júlia” (The Same Differently – Our Contemporary Peer, Romeo and Juliet”), which will be the result of a joint work with the Csokonai Theatre and the Kodály Philharmonic.
In a special initiative, the theatre announced a competition for a new play about Vitéz László in honor of the 100th anniversary of Henrik Kemény’s birth. From among the entries received, Orsolya Nagy’s drama “Vitéz László és a Halál hét leckéje” (László Vitéz and Death’s Seven Lessons) was selected, to be directed by András Veres.
The company does not forget about the little ones either: the “Babusgató” (“Cuddler”) series is being expanded with two new nursery theatre performances. In addition, popular performances such as “Emma csöndje” (Emma’s Silence), “Sárkánykirály” (The Dragon King), or the musical fairy tale play “A só” (The Salt), which is being renovated, will remain in the repertoire.
With play theatre programs, folk ritual theatre, new performances, and remembrance, the company is preparing for a season that is not only about celebration but also about a milestone in a long and rich theatrical oeuvre.
Evelin Csarkó left the company, and new members Anna Viktória Dömötör, Flóra Novák, and Csongor Ábel Csiky joined Vojtina.
“The new season is therefore both a look back and a look forward—a present built on the past, which will lay the foundation for the coming decades of puppet theatre,” they added.
Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu
