International puppeteers in central Slovakia

The 20^th annual of the Bábkarská Bystrica festival of puppet theatre productions opens Friday, September 30, in the central Slovak town of Banská Bystrica. The main program consists of 21 shows of 17 ensembles from 7 countries. Their program ranges from plays for children, teenagers and adults. This jubilee edition presents the art of international puppeteers not only in the town itself but also in 6 villages in its vicinity. According to its director Iveta Škripková, the mission of the event is to educate children as well as adults in the methods used by puppeteers in the past. As she added, it's inevitable in a time of increasing radicalism and extremism in the Banská Bystrica region.