Slovenia’s puppet theater performs in Macau for the first time

Left to right: Zvezdana Novaković harpist, Miha Arh, Maja Kunšič and artistic director Ajda Rooss Remeta

A musical puppet show called, “A Little Lamp, Pea and Feather” will be staged at the Macao Cultural Center from today.

Slovenia’s Ljubljana Puppet Theatre will present the show in Macau for the first time. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, “The Princess and the Pea”, the show caters to children aged one to four years old.

The show will feature a bright, colorful setting, aiming to immerse its audience into a sensory experience of visual and audio effects.

The musical show will also feature the tolling of little bells, harp playing and the repetition of simple sounds, syllables and words, while the story narrates the tale of a young prince searching for his princess.

At a press conference yesterday, artistic director Ajda Rooss Remeta remarked, “the story is really abstract here. […] For this show it’s not so important to follow the story but more to get this impression of sound, colors and lullabies.”

The show is intertwined with well-known lullabies and Slovenian cradlesongs played and hummed on stage by three performers dressed in bright costumes.

“It is not a language-based show so it speaks to children from any nation,” said Remeta.

The puppetry will also feature three different “worlds”, each containing a distinct series of visual effects including geometry and nature.

The theatre combines traditional puppetry techniques with contemporary puppetry practices such as stop motion techniques and video mapping.

According to Remeta, audiences are still charmed by puppet performances despite the encroaching presence of technology.

“I think they are still charmed with puppet performances. For example, in this performance, we have video mapping, and the children are so fascinated,” she said.

Meanwhile, one of the performers, Maja Kunšič, noted that the show conducts several improvisations to cater to its audience.

“Every performance is completely different. […] You have to be really sensitive because the children come in with different energies and moods. Also, it depends from country to country,” said the performer.

“A Little Lamp, Pea and Feather” will be staged from today until Monday, with nine shows which are all sold out, according to the organizers.

The Ljubljana Puppet Theatre was founded in 1948 and has since become Slovenia’s premiere institution in the promotion of the country’s long puppetry tradition.

The company has staged numerous renowned productions and also organizes festivals to attract puppet troupes from around the world.

The theatre has toured more than 80 cities and has received several awards at international festivals.