SAMPO Festival
International Puppet Theatre Festival
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Festival Club
Next SAMPO Festival will take place 27.-31.8.2025 – program to be announced in May 2025!
The program of SAMPO Festival 2024 featured puppet theatre on a wide scale: from small-scale baby theatre to shadow theatre on a large stage, from absurd object theatre aimed at adults to diverse hand puppet theatre that amuses all ages.
Performance venues were Puppet Theatre Sampo, Annantalo, Cultural Centre Stoa, Teatteri Union, Omapohja of the National Theatre and Teatteri ILMI Ö.
Read the festival book online:
The patron of SAMPO Festival 2024 was renowned actress Seela Sella.
Dear friends – Creators and Spectators!
No matter what the situation in the world is, we must not give up. People need dreams, the courage to think for themselves, to change attitudes and prejudices. It is important to find out about things yourself, to experience the joy and pain of knowing and feeling. There is a way to all this: art. Accept it with an open mind, senses and heart.
SAMPO Festival provides a great opportunity for this with its versatile program, which includes international and domestic gems of puppetry. I wish all the creators and spectators of the festival rewarding art experiences!
Seela Sella
SAMPO Festival offers memorable, touching and entertaining performances for children and adults. One of the biggest puppetry festivals in Finland, SAMPO Festival showcases artists from across the field, different styles of puppetry and visual theatre, and crosses borders between different fields of art. In addition to performances, the program also features films, workshops, outdoor performances, discussions and diverse artist meetings.
SAMPO Festival gives a place for encountering, also for professional puppeteers.
The program books of the earlier festivals can be looked at at the bottom of the page.
Jenni Haukio was the patron of the 2022 SAMPO Festival. You can read her greeting to the festival here.
President Tarja Halonen was the patron of the 2023 SAMPO Festival. You can read her greeting to the festival here.
WELCOME TO A WORLD OF STORIES!
The Festival is organized by Puppet Theatre Sampo, that was founded in 1977 and has its premises in the center of Helsinki.
We invite people of all ages, shapes and sizes to enjoy the cosy atmosphere of our Puppet Theatre Centre and see puppetry performances for children and adults. We offer also art education: workshops and theme days. Sampo´s Fairytale Café is also open to the public at the theatre.
We are driven by imagination, humor and music. Welcome to be inspired by them! You may find some happiness, the treasure of friendship, a sparkle of joy in the middle of a busy day.
We invite babies from eight months to two and a half years old to arrive at a theatre. They always come like royalty in carriages, accompanied by an adult retinue. And they enter the show as a river can be entered – they can bravely go with its flow or against it; they can watch how it flows; they can lie down and look into it, or just listen to the sound of water.
The theatre is not divided into an auditorium and a stage. The actors create a variety of images and compositions in space, where, if desired and ready, large and small spectators can enter. The audience chooses the degree of their participation and activity in the action organized by the actors.
The performance is based on associative forms, shapes and tactile-sensory perception of space, in which micro- and macro-universes are formed, assembled from objects of different colors, sizes, textures and sounds (the visual story is accompanied by live music).
Baby spectator is a little Buddha: s/he does not know what adults do know. But s/he still remembers what grown-ups have forgotten. S/he has an amazing curiosity about everything around. S/he questions and explores every tiny thing s/he notices. S/he enjoys this devising process.
We borrow from little buddhas their method of communication with reality and we are using it as a professional approach in creating baby theatre.
Note: baby prams and strollers are to be left in the yard of Annantalo. The pram parks in the front and back yards are sheltered from the rain.
Babygonia is a new production, its first premiere is on SAMPO Festival. The working group was assembled for this performance especially.
ABOUT WORKING GROUP
We are very different in place of residence, age, education and hobbies. We especially appreciate these differences when the next project unites us into a group and allows us to complement each other. Turku is a guarantee of mutual understanding: professional puppetry education and the current theatrical environment of this city are part of our common biography. The aura of the place and The Aura of Puppets inspire us to explore the object and the puppet as a unique medium in the communication between the actor and the audience, be it a large-scale puppet opera with a choir and orchestra (The Croak, 2018, Pori) or a chamber production for toddlers Babygonia (2024).
The production has been supported by Koneen Säätiö, SKR Varsinais-Suomen rahasto, Turun kaupungin kulttuurilautakunta and Taiteen edistämiskeskus. Co-production with Annantalo Arts Centre & Puppet Theatre Sampo / SAMPO Festival.
WORKING GROUP
Concept, directing - Anna Ivanova
Visual realization, space and objects - Jenni Rutanen
Sound designer and musician on stage - Roosa Halme
Light designer - Antton Kainulainen
Movement designer Mantas Stabačinskas
Performers - Anna Nekrassova and Jenni Rutanen
Note: tickets are the same price for everyone (15€), including children under 1€ of age.
In the darkness of the early morning, the Natchav circus arrives to town. Its caravan of trailers and lorries take their place in the central square. The sledge gang begins its concert of steady blows, pounding the first stakes into the ground; the sound of the immense canvas whips through the air as the tent poles are hoisted to the sky.
Suddenly, out of concern for security, the authorities order the circus to leave, forcing them onto a vacant lot in the outskirts of town. Following a scuffle, one of the acrobats is arrested and jailed for contempt and rebellion. So, the circus troupe, along with the other prisoners, decide to carry out a spectacular escape, one full of ingenuity and twists and turns...
Through an extraordinary play of shadow and light, Natchav (go away, run away in Rromani) recounts a story in which, on the margins of society, two fundamentally opposed worlds mingle — that of the circus and of the prison.
It is a story of intrigue that unfolds through a dynamic scenography. With no spoken dialogue, the visuals and music generated and performed live guide the narration, creating an original and provocative composition between reality and fantasy.
Artistic statement
Natchav tackles the notion of freedom, an idea largely diminished due to overuse, so much so as to be left devoid of meaning by a world that controls, counts and submits.
With its roots in the preservation of a lifestyle of nomadism, independence, community, movement and play, the circus invites audiences on a journey into the extraordinary, the wonderful... Time is measured in the moment. There is even an expression
in circus jargon: “the point of suspension”, which describes the moment when an acrobat is free from the binds of laws, including that of gravity. In contrast, the primary purpose of a prison is the deprivation of liberty: it is there to punish and confine, with all that this implies in terms of permanent constraints, lack of space, solitude, inactivity and monotony. In addition to the lack of space, there is an excess of time.
The current difficulties facing most circuses reveal a fundamental discord between their way of life and the societies they live amongst: the progressive privatisation of public spaces prevents these communities from finding their place, the growing number of safety regulations generates changes and costs that they may not be able ensure... Moreover, borders are increasingly being conceived as tools for controlling the movement of people, whereas travel and nomadism look past identities and states.
The freedom that these circuses defend and which we want to explore with Natchav is a sentient and infectious idea; it is a point of departure, a perpetual movement inextricable to anyone who wants to feel alive.
***
First premiere of Natchav was December 2nd 2019 in Maison de la Culture de Nevers Agglomération in France.
This is the first time Les ombres porteés is visiting Finland.
Created in 2009, Les ombres portées is a shadow theatre company composed of a collective of artists and technicians coming from a diverse range of backgrounds: music, stage design, drawing, lighting, writing…
Revisiting the art of shadow theatre, the company produces shows for all ages with no spoken dialogue which mix dynamic images with live music. Each project develops an original narrative form, a unique scenographic device and a distinct musical score in line with the piece’s subject matter.
Idea and design: Les ombres portées
Puppets and lights: Erol Gülgönen, Marion Lefebvre, Christophe Pagnon, Claire Van Zande
Music and sound effects: Séline Gülgönen (clarinet), Simon Plane (trumpet, tuba, accordion, percussion)
Lighting: Nicolas Dalban-Moreynas
Sound: Yaniz Mango
Costumes: Zoé Caugant
Touring: Claire Van Zande
Photos: Tomás Pires Amorim
Margot Chamberlin helped build the puppets and performed with us until 2023.
With help from: Léo Maurel (sound effect machines), Baptiste Bouquin (outside ear), Jean-Yves Pénafiel (outside eye)
Also thanks to: Francine Benotman, Jacques Bouault, Stéphane Revelant, Elsa Vanzande
We dedicate this show to Olivier Cueto, a cherished member of the company who passed away in March 2020. He imagined, created and performed this show with us until the very end.
Tickets to these performances can be purchased also via this link: Lippu.fi
A Scenography in Movement
In an attempt to break with the linear nature of image-based narratives, Natchav plays with a scenography aimed at freeing the audience from the traditional frontal character of shadow theatre.
On stage, in full view of the audience, the performers illuminate and manipulate the different sets and characters of the narration. Installed on mobile supports, the prison, cells, marquee and others are brought and arranged on stage as the story unfolds — their shadows projected in large on a panoramic screen at the back of the stage.
The spectator’s eyes are drawn from one direction to the other by the projection of the shadows, the theatrical play of the puppeteers and the musicians on the stage. These interwoven narratives participate in a multi-layered theatrical and scenic composition, allowing the audience to witness the making of the story as it happens
Shadow and Light
Both of the worlds encountered in Natchav lend themselves particularly well to the techniques of shadow theatre.
The world of the prison is a setting of opacity, secrecy and silence, and the truth is hidden behind a maze of walls and bars. The shadows reflect this dark, obscure and hidden dimension. What is shown of the prison is revealed through various angles and vantages.
On the other hand, in the dreamlike world of the circus, everything is visible. The physical manipulation of the sets and characters in full view of the audience captures this raw exposure and provokes a feeling of tension in the audience comparable to that experienced during a real-life circus performance.
A Cinematographic Montage
The treatment of the plot is borrowed in part from the narrative techniques of noir novels and film narratives. Like a camera, light serves as a guide for the narration, offering spectators a myriad of perspectives. Panning shots, zooms and cuts rhyme with the narration and create a dynamic reading of the story like a film shot live using multiple cameras.
Live Musical Accompaniment
The music, played on stage live and in full view of the audience by two multi-instrumentalists, features original compositions, musical improvisation and sound effects. Partly inspired by traditional circus themes, the musical score expands on the genre by adding a cinematographic dimension. As with live film concerts, the music actively participates in the narration and highlights or creates tension and surprises. The work of a lutherie was incorporated to design singular instruments and sound effects, which act as acoustic counterparts to the visual devices.
Tunnel is an unusual production that seeks comfort in the dark and treats light like a delicious dessert. At first it seems that the light can be controlled, while the darkness – unknown, dangerous – cannot. However, in the performance, the situation is soon reversed – with a pinch of courage and a pinch of cooperation, we can safely enjoy the darkness as we dose it ourselves.
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
I will tell you where to go,
so you don’t fall into the darkness,
so you don't get lost in the forest,
eeny, meeny, miny, moe.
Tunnel is inhabited by both light and darkness. Light is inseparably linked to colour, shape, structure, depth, distance, and activity. When there is no light, it is dark. In darkness we cannot see colours, we cannot perceive actual shapes and sizes, we cannot perceive structure without touching, we can hardly determine distances. The world revealed in the light disappears, sounds become distorted without a clear picture and many people feel discomfort. Fear?
We are different – some more courageous, others less so; some assertive, even impulsive, others timid, immovable or calmly prudent. Loud and quiet, together and apart. We like different things, we dislike different things. Because we are different, we are also differently afraid of very different things. We don't know it until it is for real. But when is it for real?
For example…
One day we are all playing in our own way and someone suggests playing with light. And he or she finds a way – a switch. But playing with light also means playing with darkness...
And if the switch breaks? Do we then still know what colour, shape, texture, size the world is? Where are we? And who are we – do we also change, lose our colour, shape, structure, depth and size?
Only when we are really scared (aha, maybe this is for real!) is the moment to decide – to move forward with courage. Only forward gets us anywhere, and only courage can help us get there. And it is great that there are more of us, that we are different, that we are afraid of different things in different ways, because then we are also courageous in different ways, and with different courage we look at different fears in different ways, and we stare into the darkness long enough for our eyes to get used to it, for it to become familiar, and we travel through it, and we rejoice in it, and we laugh at it, and if we want to, we squeeze it into a corner and we pierce it with the most beautiful colours. We become switches for light.
(And for colours, shapes, textures, sizes, depths and distances, oops, proximities.)
On-off, on-off, on-off, on-off.
Based on the animation of light and darkness, the performance creates a 'darkround' (a playground for darkness), where associative visual and sound images are created that playfully raise questions about fear and courage. In material theatre, the event is conceived on the basis of the use of the material, which takes into account its physical, chemical, utilitarian and symbolic properties. In Tunnel, the animators animate and define the forms of darkness and light, discovering their movement and character, and bringing them to the point where they become a medium, not just a sensory perception. They offer young audiences an associative playground in which to exercise their imaginative world and polish their creativity, and adults a reflection on the dimensions of this omnipresent, intangible substance, which is quite impossible to grasp in one fell swoop.
Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana (LGL) is the main Slovenian puppet theatre staging puppet and drama performances for children, youngsters and adults. The public institution was established in 1948 (as the City Puppet Theatre). In its work, the theatre builds on the hundred-year tradition of Slovenian puppetry. With the establishment of the Museum of Puppetry at the Ljubljana Castle, the LGL officially became the caretaker of this precious, century-old heritage.
Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana also pays special attention to cultural and artistic education in all its dimensions and at the national level cooperates in the endeavours to strengthen the standards and systemically place quality cultural content in the programmes of educational institutions. LGL organizes the International Puppet Festival LUTKE, which takes place every even-numbered year.
Miha Golob is a theatre and puppet director who has received a number of awards in the field of puppetry both abroad and at home. His original concepts are often based on the idea of exploration and play with material, which consistently ensures an active and creative role of the spectator. His production Tunnel in which light and darkness are the key theatrical symbols and the field of research, is a part of the European Mapping project.
Co-produced with the Klaipėda Puppet Theatre (Lithuania).
The Klaipėda Puppet Theatre (1991) boldly focuses on discovering new ways of puppet expression, and its repertoire consists of interpretations by both local and foreign authors. The only professional puppet theatre in western Lithuania produces works for audiences of all ages. The theatre's main mission is to present classical and contemporary puppetry to children and young people from Klaipėda and the region, to make them culturally literate and to support them in forming their own value system, which in recent years has established the theatre as an important carrier of the cultural programme for children and young people in Lithuania. Since 1997, they have been organising the biennial Materia Magica, a renowned international puppet festival.
Mapping – A Map on the aesthetics of performing arts for early years – is a large-scale international project supported by the Creative Europe Programme 2018–2022.The project focuses on artistic research and the creation of a sensory relationship with young audiences (0–6 years old), resulting in four exhibitions, 16 premieres for younger audiences and five illustrated expert publications.
Director, art director, set designer: Miha Golob
Dramaturgy: Mojca Redjko
Costume designer: Dajana Ljubičić
Music: Andrius Šiurys
Virtual content designer: Borut Kumperščak
Lighting designer: Gregor Kuhar
Actors: Miha Arh, Gašper Malnar, Barbara Kanc, Filip Šebšajevič
Performance manager, sound designer and video technician: Aleš Erjavec
Recording of conversations and editing audio recordings for the Finnish performances: Jere Kouhia, Lilli Earl, Elias-koulu 4th class (Ivan Punzo, teacher)
Producer: Alja Cerar Mihajlović, Agnė Pulokaitė
Lighting control: Kristjan Vidner
Stage technician: Domen Nagode
Set, puppets, props and costumes: Polona Černe, Sandra Birjukov, David Klemenčič, Zlatko Djogić, Zoran Srdić, Monika Colja, Smrekca d.o.o.
Cabaret for an actress, white canvas puppets and paint
Michal Svironi mixes the world of visual arts with that of theatre and creates a visual language that is unique to her. Poetry, pain and humour intertwine in a thread that links generations and leads to the eternal question: what has been left to us and what will be left behind?
Michal Svironi, together with musician Johnny Tan, realizes a dream and conjures up through spirits, ghosts that have left a trace in his memory. In a macabre circus procession, the characters, like demiurges, become incarnate and unfold on the stage. Each one is a creation in its own right and all of them cross the different dimensions and tell their story with humour. Together they allow us to face the experience of separation; those that have been, those that will be, the separation of body and mind.
What remains of our past and what will we leave behind?
The Israeli actress Michal Svironi creates a unique and original stage language that mixes the visual arts in a plurality of genres. With a lot of humour and a rich visual language that sometimes approaches poetry, she succeeds in creating a communicative and interactive theatre. Her plays deal with personal and societal processes, transforming them into theatrical events for theatres and public places.
Svironi's world is poetic and abstract, macabre, absurd and daring. She seeks magic in life on stage and beyond, with her head in the clouds and her feet on the ground.
Michal Svironi has a degree in theatre from the Sorbonne and has trained in different structures: at the Jacques Lecoq International Theatre School, at the Marcel Marceau School of Pantomime and at the International School of Dramatic Body Mime in Paris. She has participated in numerous training courses, notably with Ariane Mnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil, the puppet theatre with François Lazaro, but also in acrobatics and mask training.
The team:
Writer and performer: Michal Svironi
Original music and co-writer: Johnny Tal
Outside eye: Alexandre Delperugia
Dramaturgy: Miki Mevorach
Props, set and puppets: Michal Svironi and Léonide Alisov
Production: Shani Luzon
Photos: Dan Ben Ari, Gerard Alon
With the support of: Ministry of Culture National Lottery Rabinovich Eve Foundation - Association of Independent Theatre Authors Special thanks to "HANOUT 31 Theatre".
Puppet-object brain-storming after the motifs of The Master and Margarita
Session Bulgakov is a reconstruction of the novel, set up on the dynamics of contrasts between burlesque and abstract images of object theatre, which remained on the ruins of the confusion, left behind by Satan and his accomplices. In its fragmentation and through the rhytmization of words, gestures and sounds it combines the associations on today’s obsessed world and the tragic side of everyman with his problems, fears and desires. A trio of actors, animators and musicians puts the spectators into the role of witnesses and eyewitnesses to specific events, leading them through some originally interpreted pictures of the novel at a dynamic pace.
The play filled with dramatic expression, poetic impressions, playfulness and simultaneous flirtation with an ironic criticism of the world will leave different responses and options for interpretation. We discover sense either in Bulgakov’s fleshy subject matter, coming to life in front of our eyes as object theatre or in the work’s musical dramaturgy, which is at times explicitly concert. In the performance we either recognize ourselves as patients in a social institution or we simply immerse ourselves into the flow of associations in this session, filled with inventive twists.
Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana (LGL) - Ljubljana Puppet Theatre
Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana (LGL) is the main Slovenian puppet theatre staging puppet and drama performances for children, youngsters and adults. Its predominant target audiences are children and young people. The public institution was established in 1948 (as the City Puppet Theatre) and has been based in Mestni dom in Krekov Square since 1984. In its work, the theatre builds on the hundred-year tradition of Slovenian puppetry. With the establishment of the Museum of Puppetry at the Ljubljana Castle, the LGL officially became the caretaker of this precious, century-old heritage. The theatre manages five regular and several smaller, occasional venues. At these venues, which offer seating for approximately a thousand people, it produces fifteen premieres a year and is visited by around 110,000 spectators.
Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana also pays special attention to cultural and artistic education in all its dimensions and at the national level cooperates in the endeavours to strengthen the standards and systemically place quality cultural content in the programmes of educational institutions.
We organise International Puppet Festival LUTKE, which takes place every even-numbered year. This festival brings to Slovenia the best foreign puppet productions and promotes all kinds of contemporary interdisciplinary and genre developments. In addition to its regular programme, the LGL has in recent years developed a special programme profile for emerging artists and forms named BiTeater. This programme includes experimental productions that enrich the medium of puppet theatre with other artistic registers. BiTeater traces the limits of LPT’s performative variety, which ranges from cultivating the marionette tradition to contemporary problem plays for youth.
Directed and adapted by: Matija Solce
Set designer: Tomáš Žižka
Dramaturgs: Tjaša Bertoncelj, Benjamin Zajc
Puppet designer: Brane Solce
Lighting designer: Kristjan Vidner
Video: Gregor Gobec
Performed by: Gašper Malnar, Miha Arh, Filip Šebšajevič
Photos: Miha Fras
Ornan Braier: Tailor Made (Israel)
Annantalo, Annankatu 30 Annantalo Thursday 29.8.2024 at 6 pm Annantalo Friday 30.8.2024 at 10 am & 12 pm (FULL) Annantalo Saturday 31.8.2024 at 12 pm
Age recommendation: 4+
40 min / almost nonverbal, some English / performances on Thursday and Saturday with Finnish translation Tickets 15€
Tailor Made
On a morning just like any other, a little tailor gets a note. It reads: “Your mission is to sew a coat by midnight. The size does not matter, but it must fit perfectly…”
At precisely midnight the tailor completes his mission, but then…
Where is the sewing machine running off to? Why are the scissors wearing a skirt? What has the thimble turned into?
Come join in the magical adventure of the tailor.
A play with a few words combining puppetry, object theater, textiles and music.
Performances on Thursday and Friday evening are in English with translations in Finnish. Performances on Friday morning for school classes are in English.
Ornan Braier is a puppeteer, actor and musician. He combines a wide variety of performing arts in his shows and thus has become a unique and original artist in Israel and around the world. His stage language is based on powerful visual images combined with distinctive music, which sweeps all the senses of the audience. His work has won local and international prizes as well as grants by The Council for Culture and the Arts of Mifal Hapayis, the Rabinovitz Foundation for Arts, Haifa International Children's Theater Festival - Haifa Theater and The Train Theater.
Tailor Made, produced together with the Train Theatre, has been performed around the world and has won local and international prizes.
Another show by Ornan, Little Love Machine (2019) was seen on SAMPO Festival 2023 and it has also received several awards.
Prizes for the show include
"Conceptual solution of performance" at International Puppet Theater Festival "Three are too many, Two not Enough", Plovdiv, Bulgaria 2016;
"Best Children's Play," at the IV World Puppet Carnival, Kazakhstan, 2015;
Interdisciplinary Play of the Year and Puppet & Prop Design Award in the Assitej Israel prize competition for children’s theater 2014;
The Annual Interdisciplinary Play Prize: Citation for Exceptional, Surprising, and Original Puppet Design in the competition for the 2014 Stage Award for Children's Plays;
The Best show, Teatrul de Papusi Gulliver, Galati, Romania.
Adaptation, design, music and manipulation: Ornan Braier
Pipu is a small red ball that doesn’t bounce but wants to move in its own way.
Pipu is curious and playful. For Pipu, anything is possible, and the whole universe revolves around itself. The performance is an almost nonverbal experience of color, accompanied by verstatile live music. Moods are created through instruments, songs, reflections, music, words, and dance. Pipu makes you sensitive to hearing, seeing, and feeling colors. Suitable especially for babies and toddlers.
Puppet Theater Sampo is a professional puppet theater founded in 1977.
Puppet Theater Sampo’s group of authors and artists consists of diverse professionals in music, puppet theater and visual arts with solid experience in the field of art, as well as a strong desire to work for children’s culture. We want to do our best so that for every spectator, both child and adult, a visit to our theater will leave a good experience in their heart!
Our repertoire is rich and varied. The performances deal with themes of mutual interaction and caring that are important to both children and adults, through means of imagination, joy, and humor. Over the years, many of our performances have become beloved classics for our audience, which many come to see again and again from year to year.
On stage: Anne Lihavainen, Elina Vehkaoja, Antero Reinistö
Text, puppets, scenography: Anne Lihavainen
Devising and realisation: Anne Lihavainen, Susan Aho, Antero Reinistö
A feud between two families has lasted for decades, and has been inherited. But what will prevail – love or tradition?
With humor and ingenuity, the touching tale of Romeo and Juliet is made heartfelt, lively and dynamic. Two, whose love will not succumb to fear, prejudice and power. Full of emotion and issues both children and adults can recognize.
”Teater Refleksion’s puppet version of ’Romeo and Juliet’ doesn’t just rewrite Shakespeare’s classic as a childrens’ fairy tale. …It simply tells the entire gruesome tragedy in a way, children understand.” – Teateravisen
Teater Refleksion has since 1990 created present and contemporary puppet and object theatre performances that are for children and adults alike.
The puppets and their refined movements bring characters to life. Using set, light, sound beautiful visual images are created around the puppets and the magic happens.
Teater Refleksion has toured shows like „Night Light”, „The Way Back Home”, “Goodbye Mr. Muffin” to all corners of the world.
Puppeteers: Sif Jessen Hymøller & Aapo Repo
Text and adaptation: Jesper B. Karlsen after Shakespeare
Director: Bjarne Sandborg
Set design: Mariann Aagaard & Niels Willum – assisted by Amanda Axelsen Sigaard
Puppets: Mariann Aagaard & Amanda Axelsen Sigaard
Music: Jakob Venndt
Light design: Morten Ladefoged
Photos: Bo Amstrup
The visit is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation and Danish-Finnish Arts Foundation.
Our rather peculiar hostess lives together with animals, mushrooms, and dream creatures. She brews colourful dyes from flowers, herbs, and spices, and she likes to paint. While she does so, she is either silent or she is murmuring to herself. She’ll be happy to welcome you to her home, where you can look at her paintings, sit down and enjoy this miraculous meeting. Feel free to paint and have a cup of juice.
A theatre performance for children, their parents, and all who love visiting others. Little Visitors (in Czech: Návštěva) attempts to show things up close. You can experience the moment of colour being created, feel how the paper soaks it up, see how to hold a brush, how it glides over the surface, and how it resists. It is a glance at things common and simple that, however, at a closer look speak in a language of miracles. The performance unfolds as a dialogue between Veronika Vlková, a painter and an illustrator, and Robert Smolík, a puppeteer and a scenographer, both from Czech Republic. It is a dialogue on the border between an exhibition and theatre.
Terén ("Terrain") is a young and developing platform for performing arts, which has managed to break through on the national and international scene in recent years, as evidenced by international touring and staff trips to more than six European and four overseas countries (e.g. Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Singapore). It has been operating since 2019 in Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic. Terén explores contemporary forms of performance art and connects the theatre field with various non-theatre disciplines and organizations, such as environmental and ecological movements, non-profit organisations, often works with architects and academics. In addition to its own production projects, its programme consists of one-off events on a larger scale, while also acting as a platform for the performance of guest partners.
Robert Smolík
The artist Robert Smolík, is mainly dedicated to the creation of puppets, illustration & scenography. He has worked on the puppets for the film Kuku se vrací and for the film Čertí brko he was nominated for the Český lev award in the category of film set design. He has worked with a number of theatres such as Alfred ve dvoře, Buns and Puppets and the theatre group Handa Gote Researchand Development. Smolík lives in Jičín, where he founded a puppet theatre called Škrobotník, Šlundra a Šibrová – Skupina ŠŠŠ. He is currently an assistant professor at DAMU, Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre.
Veronika Vlková
The artist Veronika Vlková is mainly dedicated to the illustration of children's books, which she creates in collaboration with the artist Jan Šrámek. Their latest books include the award-winning To je metro čéče and Apolenka z modrotisku, for which the duo won the Illustrator of the Year Award at the Czech Grand Design, 2020. She works at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno.
Nonsense theatrical puppet concert on prepared accordion
“An old woman fell out of the window because she was too curious. She fell and broke into pieces.”
The new solo performance by Matija Solce, "Harms Fault!", combines object-based theater of the absurd with a live concert. It draws inspiration from the works of Daniil Harms, one of the last representatives of Russian avant-garde in the 1930s and brings his artistic struggle into a contemporary context by challenging and provoking stereotypes with absurd situations.
The central stage object is an original multifunctional instrument, built from parts of several accordions in combination with MIDI technology and analog mechanisms. The nonsense one-man musical serves as the musical trigger for actions and, at the same time, the scenic foundation for puppet scenes full of hits, screams, sounds, falls, slaps, and unexpected events. The unpredictable stories, connected with Harms’ “Old Woman'' will transform from atmospheric puppet theater into sarcastic executions of gentle characters, creating a juxtaposition of moods and themes. The audience will witness the magic of creating visual, sound and figurative illusion and its deconstruction at every step of the show.
Matija Solce, a renowned and award-winning puppet director, actor, puppeteer and musician, holds a PhD from the DAMU Academy in Prague. His work closely intertwines music and theatre, so his puppet performances are also interactive musical compositions. Often in the form of object theatre, they contain precise rhythmic animation with a fragmented dramaturgy, through which the audience becomes part of the theatrical experiment and is constantly in the process of discovering the unexpected.
Authors: Matija Solce and Daniil Harms
Director, author of music and cast: Matija Solce
Scenography: Larisa Kazić
Dramaturgy: Miha Razdrih
Sound designer: Ivo Gregorec Sedláček
Set and puppets: Matija Solce, Larisa Kazić, Martin Neduha, Ludek Sedlaž, Ivo Gregorec Sedláček
Production: Teatro Matita in MCLU Koper
Partner: Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana
Compagnie Bakélite: Double Bill: L´amour du risque & Star Show (France)
In this event Compagnie Bakélite will perform two different shows, with intermission in between. You can purchase tickets for an individual show or as a double bill for both shows.
L'amour du risque
Ballet for robot vacuum cleaners
A man is waiting to be served for a candle-lit dinner accompanied by romantic music.
Here, the service is automated and managed by artificial intelligence with somewhat limited capacities.
Robots move about randomly and come and go in the space, creating a hypnotic dance.
During the performance, their behaviour is increasingly disordered and they even seem to have human intentions.
A question of balance, on the edge of the precipice, an accident is never far away.
Star Show
OBJECT THEATRE ON THE TILES, A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF COMPAGNIE BAKÉLITE... AND NASA
On the eve of space tourism and low-cost shuttles to the moon, Bakélite Theatre Company will be putting all its ingenuity and improvisational skills into offering you a journey which only a select few men and women have ever accomplished.
Set off into the unknown, in the footsteps of the space pioneers.
It’s been a very long time since the Bakélite Theatre Company gave up the idea of doing things the easy way…
The company’s shows come about through experimenting. We see our creations as a tribute to inventiveness and ingenuity, open to everyone, where the strings are visible and where the audience becomes part of what’s happening on stage. It’s about playing with ordinary, everyday objects, whether “Made in Taiwan” or “Made in Brittany”.
L´amour du risque - working group
Staging Olivier Rannou Staging assistance Morien Nolot, Robin Lescouët, Ariel Doron Construction & performance Morien Nolot, Olivier Rannou On stage Olivier Rannou Light design Alan Floc'h Photos Greg Bouchet
Support for project development Charlène Faroldi, Louise Gérard, Sandrine Hernandez
Star Show - working group
Script, props and performed by: Alan Floc’h
Staging: Olivier Rannou
Performance consultant: Gaëtan Émeraud
Director: Ewen Toulliou
Support for the development of the project: Charlène Faroldi, Louise Gérard & Sandrine Hernandez
Note the showtimes:
Double show at 3 p.m.: L'amour du risque - intermission approx. 30 min - Star Show (starts at approx. 4 p.m.)
Just the Star Show at 6 p.m
Double show at 8 p.m.: Star Show - intermission approx. 30 min. - L'amour du risque (starts at approx. 9 p.m.).
You can buy a ticket either for any single show (€15) or double show (€25). If you buy a ticket for the first part of the double show, please note that you will have to leave during the intermission, if for the second part, please note that the performance may not start exactly after the intermission.
OBJECT THEATRE ON THE TILES, A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF COMPAGNIE BAKÉLITE... AND NASA
On the eve of space tourism and low-cost shuttles to the moon, Bakélite Theatre Company will be putting all its ingenuity and improvisational skills into offering you a journey which only a select few men and women have ever accomplished.
Set off into the unknown, in the footsteps of the space pioneers.
It’s been a very long time since the Bakélite Theatre Company gave up the idea of doing things the easy way…
The company’s shows come about through experimenting. We see our creations as a tribute to inventiveness and ingenuity, open to everyone, where the strings are visible and where the audience becomes part of what’s happening on stage. It’s about playing with ordinary, everyday objects, whether “Made in Taiwan” or “Made in Brittany”.
Script, props and performed by: Alan Floc’h
Staging: Olivier Rannou
Performance consultant: Gaëtan Émeraud
Director: Ewen Toulliou
Photos: Patrick Denis
Support for the development of the project: Charlène Faroldi, Louise Gérard & Sandrine Hernandez
Note the showtimes:
Double show at 3 p.m.: L'amour du risque - intermission approx. 30 min - Star Show (starts at approx. 4 p.m.)
Just the Star Show at 6 p.m
Double show at 8 p.m.: Star Show - intermission approx. 30 min. - L'amour du risque (starts at approx. 9 p.m.).
You can buy a ticket either for any single show (€15) or double show (€25). If you buy a ticket for the first part of the double show, please note that you will have to leave during the intermission, if for the second part, please note that the performance may not start exactly after the intermission.
TEHDAS Teatteri: Angelique and the Hot Spot (Finland)
"Angelique felt how the drops of water tickled her hips just like the words of that handsome young man: Je t'aime"
Do you remember Angelique? The heroine of that 60s extravagant romantic book and movie series, who was thrown by fate from the clutches of pirates into the embrace of the sun king. Tehdas Teatteri brings this beautiful heroine to the puppet theatre stage. Angelique and the Hot Spot premiered in November 2023 in Turku, and it immediately became a big favorite with the audience. The red-haired beauty arrives in Helsinki again - this time on the SAMPO Festival!
The charming performers Merja Pöyhönen and Timo Väntsi conjure up a fast-paced adventure for their stick puppets and muppet puppets, set to camp cinema music. Fantasies take you with you and exotic venues follow each other. Along with historical France, the sultan's harem, and the shadow of the slave market, we also come across the burning question: in what light can a female figure be seen in this time?
However, love is burning from one decade and century to another, and handling conflicting topics with warm humor is in the core competence of this working group.
Tehdas Teatteri
Tehdas Teatteri is an artist-led free professional theatre founded in 2000. The theatre's repertoire mainly consists of original performances: contemporary theatre, new puppet theatre, space-oriented performances and works exploring the interfaces of art. Tehdas Teatteri has been integrally involved in the birth of the "Turku puppet theatre phenomenon" and is committed to supporting the development of puppet theatre as an art form. The working groups for Tehdas Teatteri's performances are assembled for each work. The artistic design team for Angelika ja kuumat paikat is made up of long-time puppet theatre and other theatre professionals who have collaborated in several different productions over the years.
Heini Vahtera - director
Heini Vahtera graduated as a master of culture and arts (YAMK) in 2019 and drama teacher (AMK) in 2012 from the Turku Academy of Arts. Vahtera works in the theatre field as a theatre director, screenwriter and teacher. Vahtera specializes in the methods of applied theatre and makes theatre from a communal, participatory and activist perspective. She specializes in directing musical theatre and cabaret performances and, most recently, puppet theatre. Heini Vahtera is a founding member of Teatteri Valtakunta, located in Turku's House of Arts. Her work have been seen, for example, in the performances of the group Nopean toiminnan naiset (Women of rapid action).
Merja Pöyhönen - text, performer
Merja Pöyhönen is a puppet theatre artist and director from Turku. She has studied puppetry at the Academy of Arts in Turku AMK 2001-2005 and physical theatre in Paris at École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq 2007-2008. She is interested in puppets, emotions and movement and has directed many of the most famous domestic shows in puppetry. As a performer, Pöyhönen is an ambitious puppeteer and a physical actor who likes comedy and the humanization of everything inanimate. In total, Pöyhönen has been involved in nearly forty puppet or physical theatre works during her professional career.
Timo Väntsi - text, staging, performer
Timo Väntsi is a puppeteer artist who, after studying visual arts and media theory, has joined the world of theatre. He graduated from Turku AMK's Art Academy's puppet theatre training in 2003. He is an active performer, and he currently works as the executive director of the puppet theatre network Aura of Puppets. Timo Väntsi works as a performer, director, writer and puppeteer in the open field, in institutional theaters and also as a director in the amateur field. Väntsi is also known for his small in scale, but large in content solo performances, in which he combines puppetry and object theatre with acting and live music.
Pia Kalenius - puppet building
Puppet artist Pia Kalenius has worked extensively in the field of puppet theatre and performing arts as a visual designer and builder, director and performer. Her work has been seen and will be seen both on Turku and national stages. In her works, Kalenius is particularly interested in the relationship between the puppet and the puppeteer, the animating of the inanimate/matter, telling words with visuality, movement and rhythm, and strangeness vs. personal interpretability. The cornerstones of Kalenius' work are puppetry, teamwork, humor, emotionality and insight.
Irene Lehtonen - lighting design
Irene Lehtonen is a freelance lighting designer working in the field of theatre art in Turku. For more than ten years, her work history includes diverse performances and tours with theatre and contemporary dance performances in Finland and abroad. Lately, Lehtonen has been interested in the lighting of puppet theatre shows, and her handprints can be seen in shows such as Nälkä (dir. Lee Lahikainen), before Peukalo-Liisaa (dir. Anna Nekrassova) and Voyager (dir. Jenni Rutanen).
Azra Topcu Azra Topcu is a musician from Joensuu. Azra Topcu plays all kinds of music on all instruments, mainly basses in different forms. Topcu studied folk music at Karelia Academy of Music, but has also completed many studies in the pop/jazz department. Topcu's goal has been to stretch genre boundaries and find new ways to play bass in different contexts.
Directed by: Heini Vahtera
Text and on stage: Merja Pöyhönen, Timo Väntsi
Puppets and costumes: Pia Kalenius
Staging and paper puppets: Timo Väntsi
Lighting design: Irene Lehtonen
Music and Sound Design: Azra Topcu
Voice actor: Raimo Karppinen
Graphics and photos: Matti Vahtera
Puppet Theatre Sampo: The Bunny and the Miraculous Cloud (Finland)
An endearing, sweet story about a bunny and a wonderful cloud. The bunny has a lot of fun things to do and tasty things to eat – but one day the bunny is no longer interested in anything. What’s wrong with the rabbit, do you need a little magic?
Inspired by Margaret Wise Brown´s book, the dramatization features cute little animal puppets, rhymes, songs and live music.
Puppet Theatre Sampo is a professional puppet theater founded in 1977.
Puppet Theatre Sampo’s group of authors and artists consists of diverse professionals in music, puppet theater and visual arts with solid experience in the field of art, as well as a strong desire to work for children’s culture. We want to do our best so that for every spectator, both child and adult, a visit to our theater will leave a good experience in their heart!
Our repertoire is rich and varied. The performances deal with themes of mutual interaction and caring that are important to both children and adults, through means of imagination, joy, and humor. Over the years, many of our performances have become beloved classics for our audience, which many come to see again and again from year to year.
Text: Elina Vehkaoja & work group
Directed by: Iivo Baric
On stage: Anne Lihavainen, Satu Lankinen & Elina Vehkaoja
Puppets: Anne Lihavainen and Elina Vehkaoja
Set decoration: Tape Komulainen & work group
Music: Satu Lankinen
Lights: Jere Kouhia
Costumes: Kristiina Jokinen
Photos: Uupi Tirronen
Illustration: Matti Westerlund
The new play for Teatteri Mukamas' 45th anniversary is JUHLAPÄIVÄ - CELEBRATION DAY. The first performance was at Mukamas premises in Tampere on February 29, 2024, and now the performance is visiting the SAMPO Festival!
Two friends decide to organize a surprise for Fea the dog, but the audiences´ help is needed. What does one need for a celebration? Strawberries, cotton candy or beets and carrots? Let's celebrate together!
The performance combines puppetry, music and dance in a fun way.
Established in 1979, Theatre Mukamas is a professional puppet theatre from Tampere. Mukamas´ idyllic own stage is located in Pispala, and it tours frequently in day care centres, schools and other places in Finland and abroad. Puppets, actors, objects, shadows, live music and modern puppet theatre techniques are ingeniously combined in performances. Mukamas also organizes theatre courses and workshops for children in different ages, and the MUKAMAS International Puppet Theatre Festival biennially. Mansi Stycz has been the managing director of the theatre since its establishment.
Script, direction and visual design: Katarina Stycz
Music: Henrika Nieminen
Choreography: Raisa Kekarainen
Actors: Ella Numminen and Riikka Nyrhilä
Lighting design: Juha Kaijomaa
Poster, program and photos:Patrick Stycz
Pikku-Aasin Nukketeatteri: My name is Charlie (Finland)
Hello! Don’t know who I am? Well my name is Charlie, of course! I’ve once been a big movie star who has made laughed, amazed and excited millions of viewers, small and big, for over a hundred years. Today, as then, my life is colored by simple daily adventures….for example, I came across a strange can, a mischievous wind and its waltz spins, a strange space egg, and a police officer on duty. But I tell all this in my ”quiet” puppet theater … See you soon! My name is Charlie, don’t forget me…..
The activities of the Finnish-Italian puppet theater in Vaasa, Pikku Aasin Nukketeatteri - Teatrino del Ciuchino, officially began in the spring of 2006.
Pikku Aasi also travels to small children in kindergartens, even in small towns, so that the child's first "cultural experience" is conveniently located in a familiar and safe environment for the child. The performances use the Finnish, Swedish or Italian language or the universal "Gremlot" as in the Pulcinella plays.
The union of the Finnish, Swedish and Italian languages with their different nuances and musical styles has been appreciated among our young audience, making our work somewhat "special" in the conditions of Finland.
Several of our plays are originals. The story is usually built around a theme, which can be friendship, love or respect for other people and nature. Solidarity is a key topic. Adventure stories based on legends and history where dragons, princesses, sailors, witches, knights and horses and of course a donkey live.
If we sometimes use traditional stories, Pikku Aasi does not use ready-made stories as such, but adapts them to suit its purposes and today's audiences.
The plays must be versatile, we use hand puppets, objects, mime, marionettes, shadow theater and black theater, we try to approach the audience from many different sides. Our shows also include original music.
Realization: Cosimo Galiano, Anna Kargu
Drawings: Ida Galiano
Music: Various Authors (mixing by Cosimo Galiano)
Production: Pikku Aasin Nukketeatteri
Photos: Olli Pokela
Thanks to the great Charlie Chaplin and the world
of silent film, to which this show is dedicated and inspired.
Puppet workshop - non-stop
Annantalo, Annankatu 30 Sat 31.8.2024 from 11 am to 2 pm
For families, children under school age accompanied by their own adult
/ Finnish / English also possible Tickets free of charge
Puppet workshop at Annantalo
Sat 31.8.2024 from 11 am to 2 pm – non-stop
Welcome to the festival open non-stop puppet workshop! In the workshop, we build tabletop theatre figures, small theatre puppets, which are nice to play with on a small stage when they are ready.
Table theatre puppets can be made using ready-made models or you can also design your own character!
Workshop is instructed by Anne Lihavainen.
Anne Lihavainen is an experienced puppet maker, puppeteer and pedagogue who works in Puppet Theatre Sampo and her own puppet theatre Ofelia.
In addition to our official program, we also have a couple of performances in the festivals Off program, from independent performers.
One of these is
PUNCH & JUDY in the park - by professor Jo
Roll-Up! Roll-UP! The world-famous Mr. Punch is DELIGHTED to be back at the SAMPO International Puppet Festival for 2024 with the fast-paced, clown-like, exciting glove-puppet comedy of Jo's Punch & Judy Show. Performed in classic Regency, Victorian, Edwardian and modern-day English seaside style, the cheeky Mr Punch and his cast of traditional friends will appeal to children of all ages and adults too. Step into a piece of vintage puppet theatre grown from the streets of 1600's London that first made its Finnish debut here in Helsinki at the 2021 Sampo Puppet Festival and again to wonderous applause in 2022 to mark Mr. Punch's 360th birthday! Come cheer our little hero on as he battles his way through various encounters, including a sausage eating crocodile, a ghost and the Devil himself in search of his beloved Judy and baby. (Duration 30 mins. FREE ENTRY. Voluntary hat donation welcome). Authentic hand-carved puppets and booth. Performed by Professor Jo, a fully accredited member of the UK's Punch and Judy Fellowship.
Jo Hadley is and Englishman who has been living in Finland for many years. He developed an interest in Punch & Judy comedies, and has made a new career of it in recent years, performing outside all over Helsinki and other places.
SIIMES [literary] (a shade in the forest, twilight, nightfall)
Time feels different on the island. Condensed, intertwined, spiral. Old villas stand decaying in time as nature slowly reclaims them. In the absence of humans, the forest grows dense, wrapping in layers of time.
During the course of different decades, three people have disappeared here without a trace. It's almost like they have been swallowed by the ground.
What happened to them?
Kumma Company's site-specific production, Siimes, brings the audience to Vartiosaari, from the garden of an abandoned villa to the murky woods of the island.
Supported by: City of Helsinki and Ferries of Reposalmi.
PREPARATION AND ACCESSIBILITY:
The performance takes place on different locations, on diverse terrain. The event is not accessible due to uneven ground. Please note that there is no seating, the audience will be watching the performance mostly standing up. You can bring your own seating pad or camping chair. There are no shelters. Please bring appropriate clothes for the weather and comfortable shoes. We kindly ask the audience to stay silent during the entire performance. Photos and videos are not allowed, only with special permission. The performance is not suitable for children.
The performance is mainly physical theater, but it also includes some dialogue in Finnish, we will provide non-Finnish speakers with rough written translations on the topics.
LOCATION AND ARRIVAL:
You can get to Vartiosaari island with a small ferry that goes non-stop from Laajasalo to Vartiosaari, address: Reposalmen päälaituri (Main dock), Reposalmentie 1, 00830 Helsinki. The ferry trip takes a couple of minutes. Please note that the ferry costs 5e (round-trip ticket). The easiest way to reach the dock is taking bus number 89 from Herttoniemi metro station, and getting off at “Kiiltomadonpolku” stop. From there, you walk to the Reposalmi dock approx. 500m. Please, reserve enough time for arrival. There is a parking lot at the Reposalmi dock, and you can also park your car by Reposalmentie street.
Our guide will receive the audience at Vartiosaari dock 15 minutes before the noted starting time of the performance. The duration of the performance is 1h45min, there is no interval.
FESTIVAL CLUB
The SAMPO Festival Club provides a meeting place for artists and the public at the festival. Memorable conversations about the performances and everything else, exhilarating meetings, serious and less serious subjects, laughter and relaxing!
Elina’s Living Room
Elina’s Living Room meets during SAMPO Festival on the stage of Puppet Theatre Sampo. There will be talk about the festival’s performances, the life of a puppeteer, art, miracles, and everyday mysteries. The evening will be hosted by puppet theatre artist and director Elina Lajunen.
EXHIBITIONS
There are exhibitions on the festival, giving you a chance to get to know more about puppetry.
Puppets From Around the World
This exhibition about the wonderful world of theatre puppets is a permanent exhibition at Puppet Theatre Sampo. The visitor can explore puppet traditions of different cultures and see puppets from around the globe from the 19th century to the present.
