The fourth day of the 30th Subotica International Children's Theater Festival

On Wednesday, September 20, the fourth day of the 30th International Festival of Children's Theatres Subotica, three plays were performed in the official selection: Paprika Jancsii and the Devil's Tongue by the Harlequin Puppet Theatre from Hungary, Seal-Woman by the Slovakian theater Anima-Act and Nocturno by the Flying Cow theatre from Latvia.

The play Paprika Jancsi and the Devil's Tongue - performed at the National Theatre’s Jadran stage - is based on a traditional Hungarian folk-tale and a popular character. In the play, a wanderer named Paprika Jancsi is traversing a forest - at the wrong time and in the wrong place. He becomes a prisoner of a witch who then forces him to go on a dangerous quest for paprika. Oliver Silner - the author, director and main actor of the play - reflected on the significance of the character of Paprika Jansci in Hungarian culture. “He is a legend. He conquers all that we, ordinary people, wish to conquer - death, evil, bad stuff in life. It would be a hell of a lot simpler if we could deal with these things just by beating them up like he does. We are envious of that power of his and that is the reason we love the character. He's very funny and childish in a good way, so kids can relate to him. He's a very likeable hero."

At the Children's Theater of Subotica the Slovak play Seal-Woman - inspired by the myths of the Inuit people - was performed. The principal inspiration for the play was drawn from Clarissa Pinkola Estés's book Women Who Run with the Wolves. The story is written in a fictional language inspired by the Inuiti dialect that evokes the icy mood of lands behind the polar circle. Its narration lies in the pictures, intonation and emotions - pulling the audience into an intimate theatrical experience. Author and actress Lucia Svobodová said the following about the play: “The original story is very profound. It's not just about the seal-women in the water, but metaphorically it's about how we all need a home to return to. We can't just be like a hamster running in place spinning the wheel. The words we use in the play are in the Inuit language, but they are not as important as the emotions and intonation.”

The play Nocturno (directed by Jevgeny Ibragimov) was performed on the Jadran stage of the National Theatre and is a street-based performance influenced by Sufi folklore and inspired by the poetry in prose of Khalil Gibran. "He is an author, philosopher, writer, painter and a multicultural figure. As a director, I suggested that we practically transfer his philosophy and poetry in prose into theatrical language", the director Ibragimov said. This play employs Asian wisdom, irony and terrible situations to teach the audience about the consequences of human actions. The seductive form of Nocturno implies to the viewer that there is no need to change the world - which is already beautiful - but that it must change and develop itself.

An afternoon with Zoran Đerić, a discussion with the first recipient of the newly established festival award Oton Tomanić, was held at Hotel Patria.

At the Open University of Subotica, a presentation of the book Fairy-tale Theory for Puppeteers by Jovan Caran (published by Puppetry Edition Book 4, Novi Sad) took place.

As part of the cinema program at 11AM, Subotica Eurocinema theatre held a screening of the Ukrainian animated film Mavka: the Forest Song. The Home Theater workshop dedicated to the miniature theatre art was hosted by Jovan Caran.