The Arlekin Puppet Theatre

The Arlekin Puppet Theater was established by Maria and Henryk Ryl in December 1948. A 26-year period of their directorship in the theater was a time of constant artistic search and experimentation, creation of the line of the repertoire and evolution of a unique style. Due to that activity, "Arlekin" grew out to be one of the most important puppetry centres in Poland. In 1974 Stanisław Ochmański, Ryl's pupil, became the director of the theatre.
The 17 years of his leadership were characterized by perfection of craft, acting and artistic professionalism. The repertoire turned towards literary classics and drew a lot from the tradition of Polish folklore. At the end of this period a distinct generation change took place in the group - many new, young actors, puppeteers jointed the theatre.
In 1992 Waldemar Wolański became the next director of "Arlekin". The theatre became more expansive and developed new artistic concepts. Since the theatre was established its plays have been very successful on stages in Poland and abroad. During the 63 years of its activity "Arlekin" realized over 260 premieres. It participated in numerous festivals in Poland and abroad - in England, USA, France, Russia, Israel, Italy, Pakistan, Austria, Slovenia, Iran, Turkey, Croatia, Germany, Denmark, Mexico, Holland and others, where it was awarded with many valuable prizes. Its high artistic level of performances, which is an effect of co-operation with most extraordinary theatre figures, resulted in many prizes in festivals in Poland, and the theatre's puppet workshop has gained renown for one of the best in the country.
The Arlekin Puppet Theater is situated in a beautiful Art Nouveau building, dating 1902. It has two stages: a large stage with 200 seats, and a small stage with 60 seats. The building hosts offices of Polish divisions of international puppetry organizations UNIMA and IFCPA. Since 2008 the organizational structure of "Arlekin" has also encompassed the Folk Dance Group "HARNAM". Besides the International Festival of Solo Puppeteers, which is organized every second year, since 2006 "Arlekin" has organized, yearly the International Festival of Street Art "TrotuArt".