Jerusalem Puppet Festival

The International Puppet Festival is produced annually by the Train Theater and takes place during the month of August. In 2019 is celebrating its 28th edition.

The Train Theater initiated the International Festival of Puppet Theater in 1982.

The Festival selects performances based on variety, quality and relevance, and it has hosted many artists known for their contribution to the field of puppetry and Visual Theater. During the years, the Festival has become the primal source of creation and inspiration in the field of Puppet Theater in Israel. The program is composed of a variety of performances of puppet, object, shadow, visual theater and interdisciplinary performing forms, for children and adults.

The Festival serves two main purposes:

1. Bringing the best of Israeli and foreign puppet theater to the audience.
2. Enriching the dialogue between Israeli and foreign artists in order to promote and develop the art of puppetry in Israel and abroad.

The festival program includes:

Israeli Productions - the best of the Israeli creation, selected by outstanding artistic high quality, including emerging young artists and premieres.

Foreign Productions - every year, the Festival invites several artists in the field chosen by the selective artistic board.

Open Air events - multi-disciplinary project, cabaret evenings, workshops and performances.

Within the framework of the international festival, the International Exposure program is held with great success for the last 12 years in collaboration with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As a result, excellent Israeli visual theater is brought to the world: innovative, young, relevant, easy-travelled and cross-cultural.

The geographical location, the political context, the spiritual atmosphere and the variety of people involved in the event, all contribute to the uniqueness of the Puppet Festival in Jerusalem.

We look forward to celebrating our festival of creativity with you!