Lutkarsko pozorište

Puppet Theatre of Nis - the most important information

The Puppet Theater in Nis originated from the amateur puppet section, which, due to its dexterity, developed quickly and turned into professional waters. Numerous awards, premieres, world recognitions adorn the 63-year history of the theater. Today, it is located in the center of the city of Nis in Dr. Zoran Djindjic Boulevard.

History of the Puppet Theatre of Nis
The puppet section of the Pioneer Home "Stanko Paunovic" began its work in 1951 when the play by Bozana Begovic "Drug za druga" was performed; directed by Vera Amar. Until 1958, this section was an amateur children's puppet theater, it prepared 28 premieres, and then it was decided that its status would become professional. The section then grew into the Children's Theater, whose niche was puppet shows and live stage, and they performed their plays in the premises of the "Josip Columbus" Youth Center. Ivan Snauc directed the first professional puppet show performed in Nis called "Zlatni Petlic" (Marija Kulundzic). As early as 1962, the theater, which then grew into the Puppet Theater, performed at the first Meetings of Professional Puppet Theaters in Serbia. After two years, the theater will host Serbian puppeteers in Nis in its new 150-seat hall.

The repertoire then included, among others, pieces such as:
The Little Chimney Sweep
Gulliver in the Land of the Dwarfs
Gignola in Trouble
General Opera
Jumping Balls
Animal Carnival

The ensemble also performed abroad, where it deservedly received various awards.

The theater received the purpose-built building on October 14, 1977, where it is still located today. The members of the ensemble are extremely creative and use various puppetry techniques in addition to puppets, such as black theater and shadow theater. In addition to puppet shows and with the idea to make the theater attractive to older children, completely live performances were introduced into the repertoire. Among the pieces performed at the time were Swan Lake, Brothers Grimm, Winnie the Pooh, Circus, Batman and the Puppeteer.

Significance of the Puppet Theatre of Nis

Award “11. Januar”, greatest recognition that the city of Nis awards, which is awarded for outstanding achievements that contribute to the affirmation of the city in various fields was awarded to the Puppet Theater in 2007.
The ensemble performs over 30 plays that include all known techniques of contemporary puppetry.

Repertoire of the Puppet Theatre of Nis
Since its founding, the theater has won 22 special rewards, 192 awards and participated in the same number of festivals. Today, among others, performed plays are:

Princess and the Pea
It was once a winter
Ugly duck
Curious elephant
Three pigs
Goldilocks
Alice in Wonderland
Pinocchio
They could
The little Prince
Beauty and the Beast
Twelfth Sea
The Wizard of Oz

During the New Year's holidays, themed holiday performances are played. The repertoire for the current week and all its changes are announced on the theater's website, as well as on the Facebook page.
Working hours
The plays are performed on:

weekdays in the morning and noon at 9:30 11:30 16:00
organized visits of kids from schools and kindergartens are on Thursdays at 18:00

On Sundays from 11:30 the theater is open to everyone.
The box office is open on weekdays from 9 am to 1 pm, while on Sundays it is open from 9 am to 12:30 pm.

How to get to the Puppet Theatre of Nis?
From the city center it is possible to use public transport that will take you to the theater or in its immediate vicinity from where you need to take a short walk. For a little longer walk of about 20 minutes, you can reach it on foot from the city center.

Bus lines: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 13
On foot: through the streets of Cara Dusan and Nikola Pasic or through Nikola Pasic and Vozda Karadjordja
By car: through the streets of Cara Dusana and Bulevar dr Zoran Djindjic
Taxi stations: Prvi Taxi 018 /4500005, Bros Taxi 018 /4155541, City Taxi 0800 / 000022