Puppenspiele

Puppet Theatre, theatrical show with or without voice parts or background music and acted out with puppet figures animated by the players in different ways (hand puppets, rod puppets, string puppets or marionettes). Exactly when and where puppet theatre originated is unknown, but its existence can be dated back to the classical antiquity, and performances in Austria during the early Middle Ages have been documented. Main themes were taken from the Bible, German sagas, folk tales (for example Dr. Faustus) and legends. Puppet theatre flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries, when many great German-language authors, such as J. W. v. Goethe and H. v. Kleist, wrote for this genre. In Austria puppet theatre experienced a revival, especially during the period of the Altwiener Volkstheater: J. A. Stranitzky was in close contact with the famous puppet theatre family Hilverding, performing often with the family in Vienna. Later puppet theatre became "Kasperltheater" (similar to Punch and Judy shows) (Kasperl) for children, but was not rediscovered as an artistic genre until the 20^th century (Marionette Theatres by A. Aicher in Salzburg and by R. Teschner in Vienna). Mistelbach (Lower Austria) has hosted the International Puppet and Doll Fair since 1979.

Literature: H. R. Purschke, Die Entwicklung des Puppenteaters in den klassischen Ursprungsländern Europas, 1984; G. Rohrbach, Analyse einiger im österreichischen Fernsehen ausgestrahlter Handpuppenspiele für Kinder, doctoral thesis, Vienna 1974; Puppentheater in Österreich, 1987.