Magic behind the mask
Are you ready for a trip through this surprising and mysterious gate, into the other side? Are you brave enough to step through the red gate and look into this black interior?
You may have seen it: the yellow and green entrance catches the eye in a grey Mokotów street. And if you walk past about midday, you may be caught in a colourful and excited stream of children who make as much noise as a flock of starlings. They go to the Guliwer Theatre, and you go with them. There is no escape.
"It is the second time I came here," says seven-year-old Zuzia from Rembertów. "I saw 'Tygrys Pietrek' before, and I liked when the little horse was flying and it was dark."
As you walk in, be prepared for anything: gigantic puppet heads tucked in the corners or masks grinning at you. Even the hairstyle of the theatre's secretary reminds you of a live doll.
"Puppet Theatre Guliwer is no longer purely a puppet theatre," says Mirosław Korzeb, the director. "In this season we have three titles which are only with puppets, for younger children from the age of three. But young directors are more impatient these days to keep children's attention with a mixed form: actors and puppets playing together.
"Younger children are still open-minded and take the puppets in enthusiastically. They can pick up a stick and imagine it is a car; the doll can turn into a princess, and a puppy will become a tiger."
This is soon confirmed. Before the performance, Elżbieta Kubiera explains to the wriggling audience who the puppets are. She presents each, one at a time, and in a split second what seemed to be just a wooden stick with bit of cotton turns, as with a touch of a magic wand, into a laughing, dancing girl. Or a little scrap of material becomes a bear who waves his paw and demands attention. The children jump in their seats, shout, clap and laugh. No shortage of imagination there. Next week: masks!
Behind her, replacing the curtain, is a huge open mouth with red lips. Hmmm...
"My name is Mr. Tongue," it says. "And I love freedom. Let us get to know each other. On the ready, set, go, each of you will say your name. Ready..."
The long red coat behind Mr. Tongue flies about the stage trying to keep up with him. He is a bundle of energy: walking, jumping, dancing and meeting children. Everybody is invited to get out of their seats and go through the open mouths "into the head." The kids scream, run, and push, but amazingly quickly everybody sits in the dark cubicle, eagerly watching every movement of the actors who are now close enough to touch them. They will meet beautifully clad dancers, French harlequins, 18th century aristocrats and babies sucking their dummies. There is room for vampires, bats and gigantic spiders.
Six-year-old Patryk from Zšbek said, "I was not afraid, even when I saw vampires and spiders. I know they are only puppets. But she was." He points to Zuzia, 6, who is slightly shy. "I know because I sat next to her," he continues. "She wanted to sit on my lap.
"No, I did not," Zuzia assures me. "I liked the theatre."
Michał interrupts impatiently: "I liked when the spider attacked Mr. Tongue."
"And I liked when Mrs. Saliva came back at the end," says Sylwia, 7.
Seven-year-old Ania said: "I would like to come to the theatre with my mum and my dad, but they never take me here. I went to the cinema four times. I liked it, it was different. You saw people as if through the screen, not for real."
Ela came as well, with her two nephews from Pabianice: Maja, 12, and Zosia, 7. Zosia, with her eyes wide open, tells us how much she enjoyed all the songs. "I liked Mr. Tongue because he had the most to say," she says.
"We treasure families bringing their children here," says director Korzeb. The theatre has as many as three performances during the weekend: one on Saturday evening and two on Sunday, which is more than most theatres in Warsaw. It presented the most performances in a year with 320 shows last year, including other theatre troupes invited to perform there. This year, the Guliwer Theatre hosted troupes from Shanghai and the Czech Republic. On December 9, it will host the Komuk-Prest Theatre from Saint Petersburg.
Money? It is not the main issue. "We are two-thirds subsidised," Korzeb says. "The existence of the theatre is not threatened. We usually manage to have three premiers every season. Coming up in March is a play for the youngest, purely a puppet play.
"We take full responsibility for what we show, including the values we want children to respect. In this way we replace schools and parents, who increasingly have no time to do it. Take the example of Japanese cartoons: under the name of fairy tales, they ecourage for aggressive behaviour."
Guliwer is one of several theatres for children in Warsaw. It was the first theatre to open here in November 1945 after World War II. Generations of Varsovians have been brought up on its puppet entertainment.
"When I meet politicians they often tell me: Oh, I remember Guliwer. I used to go there as a kid," Korzeb says, mentioning some well-known names, two of whom just ran for the Warsaw mayor's office.
The current play is called "Po rozum do głowy" ("To the head to get some sense"). It's such a pity our politicians do not go to puppet theatres any more...
Teatr Lalek Guliwer (Puppet Theatre Guliwer), ul. Różana 16, tel. 845 1676/77, is open Tues.-Fri. 9:30-17:30, Sat. 12:00-18:00, Sun. 10:00-14:00. Performances are Tues.-Fri. mornings, Sat. at 17:30, Sun. at 11:00 and 13:00.
