The Diversity of Puppet Theatre

Paula’s Journeys

Leon, the Pirate

Rumpelstiltskin

Knight Tristan and Princess Isolde

The Seven Ravens

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn

The Day my Father became a Bush

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

The Journey to the Centre of the Woods

Heart of Stone

Animalists

The Wooden Horse

Love of Seven Dolls (Die Liebe der kleinen Mouche)

The Master and Margarita

idea: Susanne Koschig

with: Susanne Koschig, Katharina Patzelt and Andreas Herrlich

for 5 year olds and older | duration: 60 minutes

by Paul Maar | first release | puppet theatre for 4 year olds and older

 director: Christian Georg Fuchs

stage and costumes: Fabian Gold

puppets: Kathrin Sellin

music: Andreas Groß

cast: Steffi König, Karoline Vogel

duration: 45 minutes 

by Christine Nöstlinger | puppet theatre for the 4 years-old and older

direction und script: Kristine Stahl

set, costumes, puppets: Carsten Bürger

music and sound: Udo Hemmann

cast: Kathrin Blüchert, Paul Günther

duration: 55 minutes

based on the Grimm fairy tale | puppet theatre for 5 year olds and older

director and script: Susanne Koschig

set, puppets and costumes: Bärbel Haage

music: Udo Hemmann

cast: Tomas Mielentz, Maurice Voß

duration: 50 minutes

puppet theatre with music from Richard Wagner's opera | for 5 year-olds and older

based on the Grimm fairy tale | puppet theatre for the 5 year olds and older

director: Frank Alexander Engel

set, costumes, puppets: Kerstin Schmidt

cast: Kathrin Blüchert, Kristine Stahl, Heinrich Bennke, Tomas Mielentz / Martin Vogel

duration: 55 minutes

by Mark Twain

by Joke van Leeuwen, translated into German by Hanni Ehlers | puppet theatre for 8 year olds and older

director and stage adaptation: Susanne Koschig | set: Kathrin Sellin | cast: Kathrin Blüchert

duration: 60 minutes

based on the Grimm fairy tale | puppet theatre for 9 year olds and older

director: Frank Alexander Engel

set and puppets: Kerstin Schmidt and Frank Alexander Engel

music and sound: Nis Søgaard

cast: Kathrin Blüchert, Steffi König, Heinrich Bennke, N.N.

duration: 60 minutes

by Finn-Ole Heinrich | puppet theatre for 9 year olds and older

director and stage: Matthias Thieme

puppet and costumes: Kathrin Sellin

solo-performer: Heinrich Bennke

duration: 55 minutes

by Wilhelm Hauff | puppet theatre for 10 year olds and older

direction: Frank Alexander Engel | set and puppets: Kerstin Schmidt and Frank Alexander Engel

music and sound: Nis Søgaard

cast: Kathrin Blüchert, Kristine Stahl, Heinrich Bennke, Paul Günther, Tomas Mielentz

duration: 80 minutes

first release

based on an idea by Frank Soehnle | puppet theatre for 12 year olds and older

director and stage: Frank Soehnle

puppets: Kathrin Sellin

costumes: Mila van Daag

music and sound: Johannes Frisch

cast: Kathrin Blüchert, Steffi König, Heinrich Bennke, Tomas Mielentz, Maurice Voß

premiere: Friday, 13 September, 2019

based on „Die Sage von Trojas Fall“ by Franz Fühmann

puppet theatre for 12 year olds and older

director: Frank Alexander Engel

set and puppets: Kerstin Schmidt and Frank Alexander Engel

cast: Kathrin Blüchert, Steffi König, Karoline Vogel

duration: 80 minutes

Coproduction Theater Waidspeicher (Germany) and Ulrike Quade Company (Netherlands)

by Mikhail Bulgakow, translated into German by Thomas Reschke | puppet theatre for 16 year olds and older

director and stage adaptation: Frank Alexander Engel

set and puppets: Kerstin Schmidt and Frank Alexander Engel

cast: Kathrin Blüchert, Karoline Vogel, Paul Günther, Tomas Mielentz, Martin Vogel

duration: 150 minutes (incl. break)

Hand puppets, marionettes, glove puppets, stick puppets, quadrupeds, table figures and Bunraku puppets - we show how hands become figures and things come to life; we present puppets and playing techniques, which can be tried out afterwards. Numerous puppets from the collection of the Theater Waidspeicher, who are looking forward to being on stage again, are present as well.

A journey of discovery in a world of colours and shapes

In the middle of the night little Paula travels in her dreams through amazing worlds each with their own strict laws: in the Land of Circles everything with corners is forbidden; in Thousand-Corner Land nothing may be round; in Shades of Red Land everything must be red and in Upside-Down Land everything is the other way round. Paula is made to fit in wherever she goes but she doesn’t really belong anywhere. Then she lands in the Land of Soft Beds. And everything is allowed here!

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A father and his son find an unexpected treasure

Happiness is being a pirate! Happiness is having a pirate father! Or maybe not? Leon is a pirate’s son and enjoys being on his father’s ship, but what he likes most is looking over the shoulder of the cook in the galley, and at night he reads cookery books.

When the cook is washed overboard, followed by the rest of the crew, Leon gets a golden opportunity to show what he can.

From a mill to millions

"My daughter can spin straw into gold!" boasts the miller and thereby causes serious problems for her. Greedy for gold, the king believes the miller, and threatens the daughter with death if she does not perform this feat for him. An imp secretly offers to help her. Thereby he not only saves her life but also provides her with wealth and happiness. However she is at risk of losing everything when the imp demands the payment she promised: the baby of the miller’s daughter, who has now become queen. She may only keep her child if she can guess the name of the imp.

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Richard Wagner's opera retold for children

The story of two wayward lads

St. Petersburg, a small town on the banks of the Mississippi. This is where Tom Sawyer lives, and his escapades there make life difficult for his aunt Polly. His best friend is Huckleberry Finn. Recently Tom has been taking an interest in Becky. He tries to impress her with his boasting, without realising that he will get the opportunity to prove himself sooner than he likes. One night when Tom and Huck sneak into the graveyard, they witness a murder. Out of fear they agree to keep silent about the crime. But Tom’s conscience begins to nag him: should he risk his life and his friendship to Huck in order to rescue an innocent person?

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The long journey of a courageous young girl fleeing from war

Toda is in fact not called Toda. Her real name is very long and contains the letter ‘K’ four times, but where she now lives nobody can pronounce her actual name. Toda tells the story of her escape. There is a war in the country that she comes from – “one lot are fighting against the other lot”. Toda’s father gets conscripted and learns how to become a bush in order to camouflage himself. For a short time the grand-mother looks after the young girl until where they live becomes too dangerous. Toda should cross the border to the neighbouring country where her mother has been living for several years. During her journey to safety Toda has many different adventures and along the way meets various people: money-grubbing people-smugglers, children who should give their toys away, a friendly commander who is unable to command.

This solo performance looks at war and refugees from the perspective of a child. The audience sit on the stage so that they become an active part of the story. 

The show was invited to the 14th German Theatre for Young Audience Festival AUGENBLICK MAL! 2017 in Berlin.

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Who is the fairest in all the land?

Only the mirror reveals the truth. The child that the queen wishes for should be as white as snow, as red as blood, and with hair as black as the feathers of the ravens. Her wish is fulfilled, but the child is so beautiful that her beauty becomes a threat and the kingdom is in danger.

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Monologue for a robber

"Only those who know the robber really know the forest. You have to understand the forest if you want to understand the robber."

The robber lives in the depths of the forest. He g-roars and scares the bears, g-robs the hikers, g-shoots with conkers and his socks g-stink to high heaven. There are many gruesome stories about him but hardly anybody knows him well. A young researcher sets out alone on an expedition into the unknown to track down the robber. He stays a whole month with him and in the centre of the forest he has his greatest adventure.

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What is better: wealth or reason?

The young charcoal maker Peter Munk is dissatisfied with his badly paid, low esteemed work. He dreams of being rich and respected. Two spirits in the Black Forest could fulfil his wishes. But at what cost? The friendly glass man helps him to gain riches and respect, but without the necessary common sense Peter eventually loses everything. So all he can do is go to the demonic Dutch-Michael. But in return he demands Peter’s heart of flesh and blood. Dutch-Michael exchanges this for a heart of stone and promises Peter: “Neither fear nor fright, neither stupid sympathy nor sorrow can move such a heart”. Peter now has to decide what is essential for him in his life …

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A zany utopia about living together as animals on the red sofa

"The Animal is the Other within us", according to Georges Bataille. In Darmstadt around 1930, the artists’ collective "Die Animalisten" wanted to overcome the beast in human nature. This concept inspired Theater Waidspeicher to produce this bizarre-theatrical experiment by Frank Soehnle. Five animalistic animal-friends meet each other first as their chosen animal ego and then as themselves. The question why we so easily accept what is alien in the animal will give us cause to think with all the panting, howling and stroking on a red sofa.

From the Golden Apple of Discord to war

Three women talk about the war, the most famous war of classical times, which began with an argument between women. A golden apple with the inscription "For the fairest one" is thrown amongst the gods who are guests at a wedding. Paris, a young mortal from Troy, should judge which of three goddesses gets the apple. Paris choses Aphrodite who in exchange makes Helen, the most beautiful of all women, fall in love with Paris, who then takes her to Troy. Thus the ten-year war between mortals begins and results in countless victims. It is only through a trick that the Greeks manage to capture the undefeatable city of Troy, using a giant wooden horse as a gift.

Innocence and the Beast

Paul Gallico‘s masterful story about a young woman who encounters the magic of a puppet theatre is one of the most ingenious romances in world literature.

Little Mouche unsuccessfully seeks a living in the glitzy world of Paris. Alone and disappointed she decides to throw herself into the cold currents of the Seine. However seven puppets from a nearby puppet theatre catch her attention and invite her to join them. Mouche’s innocence and gaiety enthrals the seven puppets and all who see them. Nevertheless the embittered puppeteer treats her roughly and unpleasantly. Then one day a young acrobat turns up and courts Mouche.

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 The Devil is on the loose in Moscow

Mikhail Bulgakow spent twelve years writing his masterpiece, which could only be published after severe censorship in 1966/67. Since then it has enjoyed cult status far beyond Russia’s borders. The Devil personally appears with his assistants and causes chaos in Stalin’s Moscow of the 1930’s. A talking cat rides a tram, bank notes and people disappear in the variety theatre, the chairman of the literary club is missing. An author writes a story about Pontius Pilate and meets the love of his life, Margarita, who becomes a witch and flies over Moscow. Good and evil, God and the Devil, life and death all clash with each other in this Faustian story.

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