Boxlife announced the best performance of the 32nd International Festival of Children's Theatres - Subotica

On Friday, September 26, the 32nd International Festival of Children's Theatres Subotica came to a close with an official ceremony and the announcement of the award winners at the Subotica Children's Theatre.

The jury (composed of jury president Jeremy Turner (Wales), Feng Li (China) and Zdravko Mićanović (Serbia)) awarded the Grand Prix of the Festival for the best performance to the play Boxlife by Their Unparalleled Majesties’ Grand Royal Tabletop Theatre Company from Switzerland. Elaborating on its decision, the Jury has stated the following:

“This non-verbal performance subtly addresses themes like companionship, grief and the emptiness of some aspects of contemporary life.The clarity of the story-telling combined with the actors’ strong mime, clowning and puppetry skills to make a performance that was both delicate and energetic, full of imagination and lots of fun. The dynamics of the performance captured the audience to create a performance for young audiences without being patronising and which treats young people with respect. This is a production to be enjoyed by children (8+), young people and adults alike.”

The Best Director Award went to Gabriel Gietzky for the play Ballads and Romances by The Pinokio Theatre in Lodz, Poland.

“This deconstructivist production uses Adam Mickiewicz’s 19 th century poetry to create a totally new and original piece of contemporary theatre. Each of the stories portrayed has its logic and style and they combine to create a dramaturgy which is engaging, visually vibrant and inventive. The individual performances are strong and clear. The production treats its young audience (12+) with respect and as equals to adults. This performance and its reinterpretation of poetry might attract young readers to turn to Mickiewicz’s work once again; its strength and importance, however, lie in its originality, inventiveness and dramaturgical integrity”, the Jury had stated.

The winner of the Best Stage Design Award was Irina Somborac for the play The Barrel by the Children’s Theatre of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The use of recycled objects reflects the play’s themes of imagination and optimism in a play which deals with family tragedy. During the story, the large pieces of stage set are moved to create both concrete locations and situations and abstract emotions and psychology, reflecting the main character’s dilemmas”, stated the Jury.

The winner of the Best Musical Score Award was Matej Háasz for The Cosmos by the Odivo Theatre from Slovakia.

The Jury further elaborated its decision: “This inventive soundtrack - sometimes melodic and, at other times, abstract - combined with the strong visual and kinetic elements of the play helped take us to a different world of surprise and wonder.”

The winner of the Aesthetically and Technologically Best Puppet Design Award was Oleg Katorgin for the play The Miracle by Pinocchio Puppet Theatre from Serbia.

“These puppets and mask were both ancient and contemporary; they reflected the work of artists like Picasso and indigenous historical art from other continents whilst also supporting the messages of the story”, cited the Jury’s explanation.

In the Best Actor Award category, the Jury awarded a total of 5 prizes: 2 for individual performances and 3 for ensemble work.

The recipients were: Matilda Fatur, Nikolas Stocker and Nikolas Strubbe for Boxlife from Their Unparalleled Majesties’ Grand Royal Tabletop Theatre Company, Switzerland; Marko Vujević for I Wish to Be Normal performance by Children's Theatre Subotica, Serbia; Đorđe Kreća for The Miracle performance by Pinocchio Puppet Theatre, Serbia; Çiğdem Altuğ, Bilge Büyükerşen, Nagihan Orhan for I Can Fly Too performance by Eskisehir Metropolitan Municipality City Theaters, Turkey; Svetlina Stancheva, Iveta Marinova, Martin Pashov, Dimitar Pishev, Todor Lazarov for Pinocchio performance by State Puppet Theatre Ruse, Bulgaria.

The Special Prize for the Original Expression and Fantasy went to the play Blup and the Faces of Water by Kuskus Institute from Slovenia and its “experimentation in sound, music, science, object theatre and performance”.

The Young Jury of the 32nd International Festival of Children’s Theatres - Subotica (consisting of members Nadia Seke Kovač, Jelisaveta Žarković, Helena Kekezović, Ognjen Radić, Roko Piuković i Marjan Ivanković Radaković) has awarded the prize for The Best Play to Pinocchio by the State Puppet Theatre Ruse from Bulgaria. In its decision, the Jury explained: “Within minimal set design and technical requirements, the actors portrayed the well-known tale of Pinocchio in a magical and imaginative manner. The masterful puppetry, skill and actors’ expressions ensured that the foreign language had minimal impact on the audience’s understanding of the storyline. The set design further encouraged the audience's imagination and conveyed the universal language of theatre well. With its dynamics, alternating dance, song and acting, the performance captivated the audience for the entirety of play’s 70 minutes.” The Young Jury also commended The Miracle - a play by the Pinocchio Puppet Theatre from Belgrade - for its themes and messages. Members of the Young Jury recommend this play to every child.

On Friday, the last performance in the festival's competition program was performed at the National Theatre’s Jadran stage - Pinocchio by the State Puppet Theatre Ruse from Bulgaria. This well-known story, directed by Todor Valov, is presented as a theatrical performance, cabaret and black-and-white film. It was awarded the IKAR 2020 award for best puppet show.

"Compared to the traditional versions of Pinocchio, we perform the show in the style of early, 1920s cinema. The character of Geppetto - whom I portray - is based on Charlie Chaplin. Julia Ognianova (one of the greatest Bulgarian puppet theatre directors) once said that Chaplin's character is the best portrayed clown in the entire theatre," said actor Dimitar Pishev.

The main competition programme of the Festival featured 13 plays for children arriving from around the globe - as selected by the festival selector professor Dr. Marijana Prpa Fink.

The Little Prince Lifetime Achievement Awards for outstanding contribution to the development of culture and performing arts for children were awarded to Zdravko Mićanović (in domestic artist category) and Feng Li from China (in foreign artist category). This year’s Oton Tomanić Award – a recognition for theoretical contribution in domain of theatre for children and youth – was awarded to Dr. Boris P. Goldovski from Russia.

The International Research Forum for Children and Youth Theatre Art took place from September 22 to September 25 and has brought together a total of 28 theatre experts of 15 countries. The Forum was organized by Open University Subotica and the Theatre Museum of Vojvodina.

The festival's diverse accompanying program featured numerous exhibitions, workshops, book promotions and film screenings.

Traditionally, the International Festival of Children’s Theatres - Subotica is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Provincial Secretariat for Culture, Public Information and Relations with Religious Communities and the Municipality of Subotica, whereas The Vojvodina Theatre Museum is acting as a partner in the production of the festival. The executive producer of the festival is the Open University Subotica.