10th SAMPO Festival will be held 26.-30.8.2026!

ABOUT TRANSPORT, A COOPERATION PROJECT UNDER THE CREATIVE EUROPE PROGRAMME

The international Creative Europe Transport project, initiated by Slovenian director Tin Grabnar connects six shows produced by six theatres from Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Poland.

The three-year project Transport, led by Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana (Ljubljana Puppet Theatre) and involving another Slovenia’s Maribor Puppet Theatre, Estonia’s Eesti Noorsooteater, Lithua- nia’s Klaipėdos Lėlių Teatras, Poland’s Białostocki Teatr Lalek and the Czech Republic’s Divadlo Alfa Plzeň puppet theatres, is a cooperation project under the Creative Europe Programme, fund- ed by the European Commission. Six producers are creating six small independent productions directed by Tin Grabnar that will all be premiered by September 2025.

***

SAMPO Festival 2025 will feature the first three performances of the series – the venue is at Korkeavuorenkatu 35:

Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana: Transport: Cargo – Thu 28.8. at 18:00, Fri 29.8. at 18:00, Sat 30.8. at 16:00

Lutkovno gledališče Maribor: Transport: Departure – Thu 28.8. at 19:00, Fri 29.8. at 19:00, Sat 30.8. at 17:00

Białostocki Teatr Lalek: Transport: Connecting Flights – Thu 28.8. at 20:00, Fri 29.8. at 20:00, Sat 30.8. at 18:00

A ticket package for the performances is also available for €60 (tickets for individual performances €25 each).

There are a very limited number of tickets available, as each performance can only accommodate around 30 people!

Link to the ticket store online!

See details of individual performances in PROGRAM.

***

The underlying theme of these performances, which are structurally and thematically intertwined, is the issue of transport as one of the main foundations of globalisation, driven by insatiable eco- nomic development. The productions explore how means of transport shape the pace of our lives and the imprint they leave on the environment. They address different aspects of the global inter- connectedness of a world in which we can no longer live in isolation from each other.

The genre-diverse performances, characterised by hyper-realistic miniature visual imagery and complex soundscapes, unite audiences in an intimate confrontation with the pressing issues of contemporary society.

The individual independent performances interact and connect with each other on several levels in theme and structure. The successive viewing of the different performances under this project is thus creating a new dramaturgical whole, a theatre series or a puppet omnibus. Which is why the (second) focus of this European project is also on touring to different European festivals, where up to six performances of the Transport series will be shown together.

The Transport project is committed to sustainability not only in terms of content, but also in terms of production. The partners are producing small and mobile performances because one of the most important issues raised by the project concerns the future of theatre. Through in-depth reflections the Transport project explores the environmental impacts of theatre production and optimisation of the future of theatre touring.

The Transport project strives to follow the guidelines of sustainable theatre in the post-production phase. Hosting theatrical performances, which often require extensive transport logistics and the consumption of fossil fuels, pose a significant challenge for the environment. Therefore, questions about the expediency of such practices repeatedly arise. The Transport project has developed a model that enables more environmentally friendly hosting of theatre performances. Each staging of the international project is designed as a compact and self-contained production of small di- mensions that can be easily packed into shipping containers. These containers allow simple and efficient transport that can be carried out by public postal services, which significantly reduces the impact on the environment.

This complex web of connections encourages us to think about the consequences of our actions and to strive to design more sustainable and responsible forms of global development.