Milica Radulović: We are very proud to be performing at the International festival of Children’s Theatres Subotica

On Tuesday, September 24 - the third day of the 31st International Festival of Children's Theatres Subotica - two theatrical plays were performed as part of the competition program: The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish by Puppet Theatre of Niš and A Dress-Up Adventure by Gobi Dance Company from Hungary.

The Puppet Theatre of Niš production of The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish was performed at Subotica National Theatre’s Jadran stage. The play is based on A. S. Pushkin’s tale and adapted for the stage by Nina Pavlović and directed by Vjera Vidov Milica Radulović, the manager of the Puppet Theatre of Niš, commented on their choice to bring this play to the festival: “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish was chosen primarily because of Pushkin's excellent and didactic text that has lived for decades. Also, because of the puppets and the aesthetics of the director Vjera Vidov which are perfect. The third selling point was the actors, our champions, who are among the best in Serbia when it comes to puppetry".

Commenting on an important jubilee – 65 years of the theatre - and other events that the Puppet Theatre of Niš brought with them to Subotica, Milica Radulović added: "We are very proud to have passed the selection process in such a tight competition and to be performing here. Also a part of the festival program is an exhibition of our theatre’s puppets and yesterday we hosted a promotion of the Theatre Yearbook. Three festival days dedicated to our theatre is an exceptional feat for the art of puppetry from Niš”.

A Dress-Up Adventure by Gobi Dance Company from Hungary was performed at Subotica Children’s Theatre. The play’s synopsis asks: what if our trousers simply refuse to slip over either of our legs and our sweaters keep falling off our backs? Our shoes start to take on a life of their own, our socks crawl up our hands instead of our feet, our combs get stuck in our hair and our skirts won't stay in place.

Rita Gobi, the author of the play, said about the inspiration for the play: "When I was little, I used to ask my mother what to wear every morning. We would pick my clothes, but as she went to work and I was left alone, I’d always come up with another combination. Eventually, she would laugh noting how well our agreement turned out." Rita Gobi also highlighted some of children’s most interesting reactions to the play: "My favorite thing is when they start cheering or when they shout at me that I didn't dress well, that the socks shouldn't go on arms, that the skirt or pants are worn incorrectly. Ultimately, when I succeed, they clap and rejoice. When we play and talk after the show, they start imitating my peculiar dressing".

An exhibition of puppets from the Puppet Theatre of Niš was opened at Children's Theatre of Subotica. Featured on display are the puppets of such exquisite artists as Milena Jeftić, Ničeva Kostić, Ivanka Getova, Ljubica Suturović, Arsen Ćosić, Stevanka Kjuvlijeva, Erika Janović, Dragana Breza, Dušan Stanković and Irina Somborac from the plays The Puppet Bible, Velimir and Bosiljka, The Wizard of Oz, The Emperor's Prisoner, Mozart, Peppercorn, The Nightingale, Alice in Wonderland, Little Ida's Flowers and The Ice Queen. At the opening, beside the theatre manager Milica Radulović, puppet designer Dragana Breza and prop designer Miodrag Otović addressed the children, providing them with historical background of the puppets on display, explaining how they were manufactured and maintained.

At the same venue, a puppet show director and playwright Branka Rudman, Ph.D. (an associate professor and a long-time creator of workshops for teachers, pedagogues and educators, author of the book A Doll from Kindergarten to School Group) performed a puppet-show production of Ćopić's Hedgehog’s House with the residents and mentors of The Cradle foster-home. The play was rehearsed in an online-workshop during the year. Hotel Patria hosted a discussion session with Jaroslaw Antoniuk, one of this year's winners of The Little Prince award.

As part of the festival’s film program, Subotica’s Eurocinema hosted a screening of a Belgian animated film The Inseparables at 11 a. m.