Vojtina Puppet Theatre

Vojtina, established in 1975, has been the official puppet theatre of Debrecen since 1993. The theatre itself has been located in the heart of the city since 2011, nearby Debrecen’s two renowned and symbolic buildings, the Great Reformed Church and the Reformed Theological College.

At our theatre we lay special emphasis on messages to be derived from our traditional cultural heritage that can directly be addressed to contemporary audiences, presented in modern ways of puppetry, so that we can promote social dialogue in theatrical context as well as provide genuine experiences. Besides theatre performances, we have on offer in our programs thematic playgroups (since 1996), exhibitions (2001), performances for infants (2009), drama groups (2001) as well as special events for children with special educational needs in terms of the inclusive approach (2010).

Each theatre season is framed by a full-day opening event titled Lookee here at the Puppeteer! and a closing event, That’s All, Folks!, both outdoors. In winter we organize a week-long Masquerade, based on traditional medieval carnivals and Hungarian folklore customs (since 1998).

We play an important role in the sphere of arts and culture in both the city and the county, most specifically with regard to the artistic education of children aged 3-12.

Credo

Knowing well our local community and the social network, the demands of our audiences as well as reflecting current social changes is crucial to our puppet theatre’s identity.

We believe that starting from values, cultural elements and experiences that settled over centuries we primarily need to pass on educational content to future generations. We also strive to be able to influence and enrich our community’s and the city’s cultural standards; we strive to be capable of representing the interests of the communal and natural environment by continuously training ourselves and producing high-quality performances; and we strive to help the most vulnerable social groups to access value-based culture.

Puppetry is a bridge between magic and reality.

Let the show begin, the performance, let there be magic, excitement, laughter, breathing together, let's identify with heroes,... let there be theatre!
Vojtina Company 
As puppeteers, in our guests we would like to inspire thoughts and arouse emotions connected to those inexhaustible values we all share as humans born into this world; our tales, customs and universal cultural heritage shape us; by playing and through our imagination we can reach spheres that are beyond our hope until we experience them.
Doing puppetry offers us the opportunity to breathe together as well as the freedom of asking questions, a medium of creative experimentation, the extended state of pleasing others, the endless domain of transforming matter, and a playground for the metamorphosis of meanings.
The magic of puppetry means exploring life itself via animating the object made from fabric.

Where have we been?
France (1987, 1991, 2002, 2009)
Austria (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008)
Romania (1990, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Sweden (1992)
Germany (1995, 1996, 1999, 2012)
Slovakia (2000,2017)
Poland (2001)
Serbia (2001,2006)
Mexico (2003)
Russia (2003)
Japan (2003,2007,2015)
Czech Republic (2005,2015)
Italy (2011)
Luxemburg (2011)
Belgium (2011)

Awards:
János Arany – Kornél Giovannini: Toldi
- award of excellence, 1978

Sándor Petőfi – Vojtina: János Vitéz I.
- UNIMA – diploma, 1983

Gyula Illyés – Tibor Szabó: John the Strong 
- UNIMA – diploma, 1985

Gábor Pap: A Resounding Pelican
- award of excellence, 1986

Ferenc Buda – László Rumi: Kendzsebáj’s Nuptials
- award for best performance for children, Hungarian Theatres Festival, Miskolc, 2000
- best scenery for Judit Bodor, Meeting of Hungarian Puppet Theatres, Kecskemét, 2000

Vojtina Puppet Theatre
- Csokonai Award, 2000

Pavel Vasicek, Pavel Srut – Gábor Sramó: Tom Thumb and Tom Lanky
- Vaskakas-Award – best actor award for Béla Megyeri, Vaskakas Festival, Győr, 2002
- Vastyúk-Award – best actress award for Melinda Papp, Vaskakas Festival, Győr, 2002
- UNIMA diploma for Béla Megyeri, Pécs Adult Puppet Theatre Festival, Pécs, 2004
- A Puppeteers Committee’s special award for Melinda Papp, Pécs Adult Puppet Theatre Festival, 2004

Béla Megyeri és György Reschofsky
- Csokonai Award, 2004

Axel Hacke – Dóra Gimesi – Ágnes Kuthy: Little King December
- award for set design for Ákos Mátravölgyi, V. International Children and Youth Theatre Biennale, Kaposvár, 2010
- award for most moving story, XVI. International Puppet Festival, Békéscsaba, 2015
- award for best set design for Ákos Mátravölgyi, Puck International Festival of Puppet and Marionette Theatres, Cluj-Napoca, 2015
Dóra Gimesi: Cinderella
- award for best designer for Ákos Mátravölgyi, VI. International Children and Youth Theatre Biennale, Kaposvár, 2012
- best writer, best dramaturgy for Dóra Gimesi, VI. International Children and Youth Theatre Biennale, Kaposvár, 2012
Rita Bartal Kiss: Merry Pictures
- best script award, Puck International Festival of Puppet and Marionette Theatres, Cluj-Napoca, 2013
Géza Kovács: Adventures of  Batu-tá
- Award for best actor, Jankó Schneider, Puck International Festival of Puppet and Marionette Theatres, Cluj-Napoca, 2013
- Michel Indali Award, Kolibri Festival, Budapest, 2014

Anikó Asbóth
Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic – 2014
Csanak József Award – 2014
Award for Debrecen’s Culture – 2017
Blattner Géza Award – 2017
Debrecen Municipality Csokonai Award - 2018

Terka Láposi
Award for Debrecen’s Culture – 2014
Artist of the year (Debrecen) – 2015
Csanak József Award – 2016

Puppet Playwright Contest
2015 best actress: Mónika Nagy Mónika
2016 best actress: Tímea Telenkó-Oláh
2016 best actor: Jankó Schneider
2017 best actress: Gréta Fekete