Traditional puppet art meets enthusiasts in Ankara

The 5th International Ankara Puppet Festival, organized by the Kukla Karagöz Performing Arts Association (KUKSADER) in cooperation with Ankara University, started on Saturday, Oct. 19.
Under the main sponsorship of DenizBank, the festival will run until Oct. 27 and will feature 42 events consisting of puppet plays, exhibitions and workshops. The festival was inaugurated at the Theater Tempo, the festival center, and will meet its audience in 13 separate venues inside Ankara and the Beypazarı district.
The festival, to be attended by nine countries, is welcoming the audience with two exhibitions, nine workshops and 19 different plays.
This year the festival is being supported by Bilkent University’s Theater Department, in addition to Ankara University. Also, Bilkent Center, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality’s Theater Hall, Beypazarı Municipality and Erimtan Museum have been added to the festival’s venue list this year.
The International Ankara Puppet Festival, which also features puppet plays for adults with the motto “Puppet art is not for kids alone,” will stage four different plays for adults this year.
Kazakhstan’s Almaty State Puppet Theater will perform “Romeo and Juliet” and “Motherly Love” for adults, and the Theater Tempo will play “The Last Night of Socrates” for this segment of the audience again.
In addition, Gökhan Yılmazer, who will be a guest at the festival from Kocaeli province, will meet adults with his show called "Naif Bey ve Yaveri" (“Mr. Naif and His Aide”).