Gulliver’s Space Journey

The Puppet Clinic Theatre are the hosts of the Dziecinada Festival. The group is a true phenomenon of both theatre of form and of the offstage as such. The theatre has become recognisable for its use of giant forms. Already in their first performance, the Mass in Black and White in 1988. Henryk Jurkowski, a prominent Polish theatrologist and historian of puppet theatre, approached the artists after one of the group’s performances and said: „Many masks and puppets have already been invented, but you have found your own expression! Just keep it up!”. They considered this a great accolade. Members of the theatre, studied at the Puppetry Faculty of the State Higher School of Theatre in Wroclaw. The theatre is based at „Wolimierz Station” in Pobiedna, but its theatrical travels take it all over the world – to Finland, Taiwan, China, Italy, Germany, Belgium or France.

The Puppet Clinic can be called a late child of the counterculture. The creators were guided by the ethos of the hippie movement and adhered to values close to it. Creative and personal freedom, authentic interpersonal relationships and community were particularly important to them. From the very beginning, the theme of harmonious coexistence with nature has also become a key one. The theatre operates as a village theatre and a travelling puppet theatre. We make contact with the audience through form. In puppet theatre, anything is possible. This is unusual. The Puppet Clinic’s performances engage, even mesmerise the audience with their uncommonness and extravagance. The atmosphere is usually complemented by live music.

The theatre is based at the Wolimierz Station. The converted rural railway station has become a unique centre of culture and art. It gathers artists of different generations. Some will see it as a kind of open-air museum or commune. Others see it as an oasis and an alternative to big-city life.

“Gulliver’s Space Journey” based on Jonathan Swift’s novel „Gulliver’s Travels”. We are currently at a turning point in the history of our planet. On the night of 21 December 2020, the world entered the Age of Aquarius. The planets of Jupiter and Saturn aligned with each other in the sky so that, seen from Earth, they looked like a single planet. According to astrologers, this signifies a huge change in human mentality. The arrival of the Age of Aquarius announces to the world the end of the old and the beginning of a new life. The end of wars and quarrels – the beginning of peace and respect towards nature and all beings.It is not enough to live, it is how you live that counts.”

„Gulliver’s Space Journey” is a performance for children and adults. We are setting off on another journey together. On Gulliver’s magical ship we sail to the stars. Meanwhile, in the likeness of a meteorite, a huge Cosmic Egg falls from the sky to Earth with a message for humanity. It unfortunately strikes straight into Gulliver’s ship and breaks it in half. It then rolls all the way to the Land of the Lilliputians, where absurd wars are constantly being fought. Now only Gulliver can help the Egg return to the sky, so that the prophecy of the stars about a new era of love and respect towards everything and everyone can be fulfilled.