Jirtdan Puppet Theatre Festival due in Baku

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

The 3rd International "Jirtdan" Puppet Theatre Festival will be held in Baku on November 15-20.

The festival will be co-organized by the Azerbaijan Culture and Tourism Ministry, International Association of Puppetry UNIMA, and the Azerbaijan State Puppet Theatre named after Abdulla Shaig.

Within six days the country’s capital will host the multi-genre festival, to be filled with colorful performances of puppeteers from around the world.

It will be held under the state program entitled "Azerbaijani theater in 2009-2019," which aims to ensure the preservation and development of the rich heritage and artistic traditions of Azerbaijani theater.

Last year, the festival attracted puppeteers from many popular international puppet theaters, including the British Puppet Theatre Dorset and an Italian Puppet Theatre called “Teatro Verde Burattini.”

Every nation has its own verbal folklore for children, many created by adults, and some even spontaneously created by children themselves in response to a situation.

"Jirtdan" is one of the most popular and beloved fairy tales in Azerbaijan. Jirtdan, meaning "tiny" in Azerbaijani, is about a child, much too small for his age, who finds strength in being intelligent.

This fairy tale closely resembles the German story of Hansel and Gretel, in which a brother and sister lose their way in the forest and finally outsmart and escape an evil witch who intends to eat them.