Debrecen4U June 18, 2025

Vojtina Puppet Theatre held its season finale, hosting almost 42 thousand spectators this year

In the 2024/25 season, 7,700 people bought season tickets. This year, the audience saw 523 performances at Vojtina’s two venues, 241 theatre and 282 play theatre productions.

After 32 years, Anikó Asbóth, the founding member of the Vojtina Puppet Theatre, closed her last full season as the director of the puppet theatre. At the season-ending meeting, she received the Debrecen City and Company Level Award from Deputy Mayor István Puskás.

“The puppet theatre closed its 49th season. The popularity of our performances remains unbroken, as evidenced by the ever-increasing audience numbers that are pushing the limits of the puppet theatre’s capacity: we had almost 42,000 spectators in the 2024/25 season, and 7,700 people purchased season tickets. This year, the audience could see 523 performances at the two venues of Vojtina: 241 theatre and 282 play theatre productions,” she emphasized. The four-performance season ticket type was the most popular, with almost 5,000 sold.

The most frequently performed piece was the production entitled “The Deer Called Love” (85 times), which drew its textual basis from documentary materials from an English-Hungarian children’s rights research project and the children’s own words.

This season, the puppet theatre’s rehearsals and programmes were planned for the two venues, Kálvin Square and Kossuth Street. In addition to the exhibition space of the “World Centre” exhibition on Kossuth Street, which has been operating for several years, the “Vitéz László Repertory Store” was completed on the first floor of the puppet theatre’s Kálvin Square building in January of this year, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Henrik Kemény, in which the puppets, puppeteer’s accessories, and documentation of the legacy not included in the exhibition are given a worthy, professional placement.

“In September, we announced a season of encounters in the spirit of diversity, uniqueness, and all-art,” as artistic director Terka Láposi began the professional evaluation of the season. “The encounters with guest artists who have not created yet in Vojtina, with acting students who are doing their university internships in the theatre, and with the determined effort to open our doors to upper primary school students and adult audiences. The presentation of the play “The Dragon King” was of epochal significance in the life of the theatre,” she highlighted.

The puppet theatre closed a busy season full of presentations and renovations, welcoming children with six new performances and two long-running productions.

Two premieres were held in September: “The Fairy of the Three-Branched Oak” was directed by Géza Kovács, and the tale “The Boots of Immortality” was written and staged by Róbert Markó based on the idea of ​​one of the company’s actors, Máté Péter Mercs. “The Deer Called Love” was aimed at those over three years of age, giving a glimpse into the world of play for kindergarteners in a verbatim theatre form that is rare and unique even in the world of stone theatres. The performance “The Dragon King”, presented in November and intended for those over 10, was experienced as a defining theatre experience and a boundary-crossing. The production was performed with great success, several times in front of an adult audience, which had an inspiring effect on both the actors and the creators. The play was written by Orsolya Nagy and directed by Domokos Kovács.

The acceptance of otherness, extraordinary sensitivity, and environmental pollution were the defining focuses of the play “Emma’s Silence.” The drama was staged by the author herself, writer and playwright Dóra Gimesi, with the help of puppet and set designers Mari Takács and Erik Grosschmid. This theme was partly continued in the performance “Mirror Eyes,” based on the fairy tale “Ida’s Tales” by Mikołaj Łoziński, which examines the question of what kind of humorous, absurd, and seriously obstacle-filled stories we would encounter if we viewed the world of humans through the eyes of animals.

The line of adaptation has also expanded, as they have included their popular plays, “The Witch of the Hall Wardrobe” and “Save Me!,” in their repertoire again.

The highlight of the season was the “Kemény Henrik 100” set of programmes. The six-month series of events organized to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the grand master of fair puppetry, Henrik Kemény, ended last weekend with the International Meeting of “Vörössipkások.”

The season’s exhibitions were organized in the spirit of arts under the title “Origins.” The exhibition “PONT,” presenting their puppet actors, will be open to the public in September.

Praising the puppet theatre, which is closing its 49th season, Deputy Mayor István Puskás said, “Vojtina is far more than a theatre, as it helps children get to know culture not only with performances but also with numerous exciting programmes.”

“It helps both the city’s educational institutions and city families to ensure that our youngest children grow up in a community that is as protected, inspiring, and of the highest quality as possible and to gain connections with the treasures of Hungarian and universal culture,” he emphasized.

The year-end awards were also presented at the event.

Workforce associate Petra Gellért received the Vojtina Puppet Theatre’s Quality Award. The Paraván Award, established this year by the puppet theatre’s Arts Council to recognize background workers, was received by members of the puppet-making workshop, Éva Nádasiné Szegedi, Kati Kissné, and Richárd Oláh.

Lighting technician András Ágh was elected a permanent member. He has officially been a member of the Vojtina team for 30 years. However, he was already involved in creating puppet theatre performances when the puppet theatre was still operating at the Kölcsey Cultural Centre.

András Ágh’s work was recognized with the Pelikán triptych, designed by Sándor Pikó and executed by Tamás Molnár.

The Vojtina Puppet Theatre has been operating a new, audience-friendly website since March. The online ticket sales system was launched in the spring, and a modern rehearsal board system serves internal communication.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu