Thursday, September 22nd; 11.00 h; Cultural Centre Travno venue; 3+; 35 minutes; in Serbian
In ancient times, man lived in close contact with animals, some he tamed, others he hunted, or they hunted him. Therefore, it is understandable that animals also appear in the oldest stories we know. In many instructive narratives that have survived to this day, animals have human characteristics. We call these stories fables.
They were already known in ancient Egypt and India, and in Europe they spread mainly under the influence of ancient Greece. Aesop, the most famous storyteller of all time, is said to have lived in Greece in the fifth century BC. It is said that he was from Frisia, that he was a slave, that he had a hump, a speech impediment, and that he was executed in Delphi for blasphemy. Although there is no reliable evidence that he actually lived, many different fables are attributed to him that have survived for 2,500 years in oral tradition. Fables have seen as many printed editions as few other books.
Aesop’s fables are usually short and witty, expressing instructive thoughts from everyday life in simple language. A concise teaching or moral is added to each fable. With irony and expressed doctrine, they point out people’s mistakes. Aesop imitated Indian and Greek fables. It has never seemed unusual to us that animals from fairy tales speak human language, so in a sense we could consider them the forerunners of comic books and cartoons. During the Age of Enlightenment, fables became a popular literary genre with which authors wanted to teach and educate readers.
KRAGUJEVAC CHILDREN’S THEATRE, KRAGUJEVAC, REPUBLIC OF SERBIA
Founded in 2003, the Kragujevac Children’s Theatre is the youngest theatre of its kind in Serbia. Its repertoire honours national and world literary heritage through both puppetry and drama, intended for pre-school and school children, as well as youth.
Since its inception, the theatre has been located at the Trade Union House (Dom sindikata), it has 303 seats and a stage equipped with modern stage equipment.
On average, three premieres and around 170 programmes are performed annual on the stage of the Kragujevac Children’s Theatre, enjoyed by more than 20,000 visitors.
In addition to the production and performance of its own plays, the theatre has preserved the tradition of organising the Golden Spark International Puppet Theatre Festival attended by more and more leading international theatres with each passing year.
Thanks to the quality of the performances, as evidenced by the guest appearances at prestigious international festivals, as well as numerous awards won, the theatre gained a great reputation at home and abroad.
