The Belarusian State Puppets Theater with dignity represents, both in the homeland and abroad, one of the oldest genres of theatrical art, and its performances are visited and admired by children and adults.
The theater’s history begins in Gomel, where on June 15, 1938, the Republican Puppet Theatre opened. In the beginning the theatrical troupe included five actors only. Their first staging was a fairytale play by L. Tarakhovskaya, based on the sketches of Obraztsov’s Theater.
The most fruitful period in their creative development was associated with the head of the theatre, Mikhail Babushkin, and the art director, Boris Zvinogrodsky. In 1939, the theater staged the first Belarusian play “Magical Gifts”, based on the fairytale of the oldest Belarusian writer, V. Volsky. Among the theater’s early staging, the most outstanding were “Puss in Boots” by G. Vladychina, “A Travel to Wonderful Lands” by V. Polyakov, “Kashtanka” based on A. Chekhov. During the Great Patriotic War, the theater continued its performances in evacuation. In 1944, the theater returned to Gomel and worked there until 1949. In 1950, the theater was re-established in Minsk. Since then and until 1999, its name was the State Puppet Theater of Belarus.
In 1956, the known Belarusian director, Anatol Lyalyauski, headed the theater. Under his direction, along with art director Leonid Bykov (in 1957), the theater began its way to success, practicing the art without any genre or thematic limits. A significant place in theatrical repertoire was taken by the works of national drama, as well as the tales of different nations. In the second half of the seventies, actors began performing on the stage along with puppets. The theater also started to stage plays for adults ("Excellent Galatea" by S. Darvas and B. Godard, "Bug" by V. Mayakovsky, "Divine Comedy" by I. Shtok etc).
In 1986, Aleksey Lyalyauski, the son of Anatol Lyalyauski, succeeded his father. He promoted the theater to brand-new level, making it a part of the world’s puppet art. Performances staged under the direction of Aleksey Lyalyauski were remarkable for a constant search for new means of expression and the use of all types of theatrical art: drama, ballet, opera, pantomime. The most remarkable staging are "The Eternal Song" (by Yanka Kupala), "The Tempest" (by Shakespeare), "Ganele" (by Hauptmann), "The Story of the Snow Queen, Told by Her Own" (based on the tale of Andersen), "The Story of One City..." (by Saltykov-Shchedrin), "Paris Is Over!" (based on the play by Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard"), "The Seagull. The Experience of Reading” (by Chekhov), "Master and Margarita” (by Bulgakov), “The Adventures of Pinocchio in the Country of Fools " (by Aleksey Tolstoy), “Simon Musician” (by Yakub Kolas), “The Blue Bird" (by Maeterlinck), “Winnie-the-Pooh” (by Milne), “Cinderella” (by Tamara Gabbe)," “Little Red Riding Hood" (by Schwartz)," “Funny Circus” (by Anatol Lyalyauski), “Despair Boat "(by Korotkevitch) and many others.
Today, the theatre performs on tour in Belarus and abroad. Its performances have been welcomed by the audience in Belgium, Bulgaria, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Ukraine, France and Croatia. The troupe is a winner of numerous international theatrical prizes and awards. The theater is the founder and organizer of the International Festival of Puppet Theaters in Minsk.
For more information, see the factographic database “Belarus in Persons and Events”.
