LONG, BROAD AND SHARPSIGHT A traditional fairy tale performed by a single actress-puppeteer, Antonie Formanová, on a small-scale proscenium stage. Her calm and succinct performance stands in a witty contrast to the fairy-tale narrative and the puppets. This classic, yet playful and distinctive story teaches us that we are stronger with friends and that we need them, even if they look a bit strange. In this enchanting, rather than experimental production, the characters are portrayed through the magical world of puppets created by Robert Smolík, an award-winning set designer and author of (not only) puppet shows.
ROBERT SMOLÍK (1977) He studied set design at the DAMU Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre in Prague, where he has been working as a lecturer since 2004 and where, with Denisa Václavová, he has been running the master’s programme’s Studio of Sustainable Theatre since 2020. In addition to set design, he makes puppets and mechanical objects. As a set designer, he cooperates with several professional puppet theatres (Minor, Naive Theatre in Liberec, etc.). In the period between 2005 and 2018, he collaborated with the Cakes & Puppets Theatre and also concentrated on research and development in the Handa Gote group. Currently, he is a member of the Škrobotník, Šlundra & Šibrová group. Smolík is also a visual artist and activist engaged in his hometown of Jičín. He has won many awards for set design at the Mateřinka and Skupa’s Pilsen festivals.
MINOR THEATRE Minor is a theatre specialised in family productions. Since 1998, when Zdeněk Pecháček took over as its managing director, the theatre has extended its scope beyond puppet shows and now gives freedom to the directors and set designers to choose their own means of expression. Minor attracts leading directors, mostly graduates of the DAMU Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre – Jiří Austerlitz, Jan Jirků, Jakub Vašíček and Tomáš Jarkovský, Braňo Holiček, Anna Klimešová, Petr Erbes, Boris Jedinák, Lenka Vagnerová, Jiří Jelínek, Janek Lesák and Natálie Preslová, and others. In addition to theatre productions, the audience can visit an interactive gallery or participate in educational and practical workshops led by professional artists, as well as in outdoor activities. This makes Minor a popular cultural centre for the whole family.
