Peter Kuss: Our lives depend on water, but we don't care about it enough

On Thursday, September 25 (day 5 of the 32nd International Festival of Children’s Theatres – Subotica), the competition program featured performances Blup and the Faces of Water (by Kuskus Institute from Slovenia), I Can Fly, Too (by the Eskisehir Metropolitan Municipality City Theatres from Turkey) and The Cosmos (by the Odivo Theatre from Slovakia).

In Bloop and the Faces of Water (a play directed by Peter Kuss, performed at the Jadran stage), scientists conducting experiments with water are surprised by the appearance of Bloop - a water creature eager to rush to everybody’s aid.

"As water is all around us, we thought it might be a good idea to base our play around it. In our everyday lives, we don't even notice it, but it is actually very important. It’s the most important element on which our lives depend, but we don't care about it enough", said Peter Kuss, the play’s author and one of the leading actors.

The Subotica Children's Theatre staged a performance of I Can Fly, Too - a play written and directed by Berkay Akin. It’s a heartwarming puppet-show that celebrates the power of imagination teaching children the importance of friendship and mutual assistance in realizing their dreams.

"This is our sophomore puppet-show project. We wanted to create a simple story for children aged 3 to 5. The plot is based on real life: it follows a kitten which, as you can imagine, is quite playful and wants to try everything out. It wishes to learn how to fly and meets many animal friends along the way. The play’s premise is: if you can imagine something, you can make it happen," said Şafak Özen, assistant director.

The Cosmos, directed by Mária Danadová and Monika Kováčová, performed at the Jadran stage, took the audience on a journey into the first steps of the theatrical universe for little astronauts and their loved ones, inviting them to discover new worlds.

Mária Danadová (who is both the play’s director and actor) said of their performance in Subotica: "This is a new production of ours. We perform it for children aged 3 and up, but it’s also interesting for adults because it deals with exploration, search and discovery of the world in constant motion. It’s not easy to be a performer and a director at the same time. It is especially difficult during the research phase, but it is eventually the best solution because then you are completely familiar with all segments of the performance. We are happy to be able to travel the world with our theatre and we especially love non-verbal performances intended for everyone."

Patria Hotel hosted a presentation event for the new issues (#20-21) of the magazine Niti i Zbornik and the anthology volume Theatre for Children: an Artistic Phenomenon (a collection of essays presented at last year's 15th Research Forum for Children and Youth Theatre Art).

As part of the festival's film programme, Subotica’s Eurocinema theatre held a screening of the animated feature film The Inventor.

On the final day of the 32nd International Festival of Children's Theatres - Subotica, in the competition program the audience will be able to watch the play Pinocchio by the State Puppet Theater Ruse from Bulgaria on Friday, September 26, at 10 a.m. at the Jadran stage.

In memory of Dr. Zoran Đerić, a promotional event for two of his books will take place at 4 p.m. at the Patria Hotel venue: a collection of poems entitled Eberečke, eberdu: poems for children (edited by Luka Kecman and published by the Vojvodina Cultural Center "Miloš Crnjanski") and a collection of essays on theatre The Meaning of Drama (published by the Sterija Theatre).

As part of the festival's film programme, a screening of the animated feature Niko: Beyond the Northern Lights is scheduled at the Subotica’s Eurocinema theatre.

The festival will be officially closed with an awards ceremony (for the best achievements and acting performances) at 7 p.m. at the Subotica Children's Theatre.

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 festival's production. The executive producer of the festival is the Open University Subotica.