ASTANA — The Almaty State Puppet Theater won the Grand Prix at the first International Puppet Festival in Ottawa, Canada, which took place July 3-6.
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Romeo and Juliet production. Photo credit: exclusive.kz
The Kazakh theater team was awarded the victory for their production of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,”, reported Khabar TV channel on July 8.
The festival featured performances by three distinguished groups from Canada, Kazakhstan and Türkiye, showcasing five unique plays.
The performance was directed by Dina Zhumabayeva back in 2019. The production is unique in that it features both dolls and people. The latter perform only two roles: Romeo and Juliet. Such a directorial decision is not by chance: according to the director’s vision, it illustrates that all challenges, regardless of their nature, are transient, and only love is eternal, according to exclusive.kz.
Almaty State Puppet Theater was created in 1935. Kazakhstan’s theater performers have represented the country in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, China, Japan, and many other nations. In 2022, the puppet theater won the Grand Prix at the Golden Dolphin International Puppet Festival in the Bulgarian city of Varna.