Puppet Theatre Kobanci, Kamnica

The history of the Cultural and Artistic Society Kobanci dates back to the 1930s, while its puppetry activity is about thirty years younger. It began in the 1950s with guest performances of other puppet groups in Kamnica, and in the 1960s the first seeds of puppet creativity were sown by educator Jožica Roš. The Kobanci Cultural and Artistic Society established its puppet section in the 1960/61 season. In the early years, the plays were simple in their staging. The group’s puppets were crafted by Anton Jezovšek. Titles from this first period include: Little Red Riding Hood, The Bag of Laughter, Mucolin and the Wolf, At the Hedgehogs’, Snow White, and others.

In the 1970s, following the departure of Jožica Roš from Kamnica, leadership was taken over by puppet group member Erih Kosem. The puppet ensemble was strengthened by invited artists; productions became more artistically demanding; studio-recorded music composed specifically for the plays replaced the simple musical accompaniments; and new artistic materials allowed for larger puppets and more dynamic stage settings.

Titles of productions from the 1970s and 1980s include: At the Hedgehogs’, The Bunny’s House, The Dancing Donkey, Kitty Paw, The Offended Little Bear, The Curious Elephant, The Sleepy Little Star, Three Snowmen, The Little Ball with Stripes, Uncle Jurij’s Puppets, Abracadabra, Ha, Fidl Fadl, The Thieving Fox and Mojca Pokrajculja, The Magic Slipper, Lizika the Goat, The Great Peanut, Three Snowmen, Špela, Pika and Bambina, Tobija, The Rafters and the Drava Water Sprites, Hansel and Gretel, and Pivov the Little Cloud, all bearing witness to the diverse and rich puppet life of the Kobanci Puppet Theatre.

Directors included Erih Kosem, Tine Varl, Jože Vozny, Mišo Petrovič, Bojan Čebulj, Neva Ketiš, and Danilo Vranc; stage design and visual identity were created by Breda and Tine Varl, Zdenko Majaron, Miroslav Melena, Nataša Prosenc, and Danilo Vranc; while music was composed by Urban Koder, Boris Rošker, and Jani Golob. The puppets were for the most part crafted by the Kamnica puppeteers themselves, who thus perfected not only their stage performance but also their knowledge of all stages of production.

The puppeteers of Kamnica presented their creativity not only in their home community but also frequently across Slovenia and abroad. They appeared at Slovenian gatherings and international festivals, recorded several productions for RTV, and in 1976 made their premises available for the filming of the legendary puppet series The Little Beasts from Resia by the Maribor Puppet Theatre.

Source: Monographs KUD Kobanci Kamnica 1934–1984; KUD Kobanci Kamnica – Puppet Theatre 15 Years; Puppet Theatre Kobanci Kamnica 30 Years

The exhibition was prepared by Neva Ketiš, Janko Heričko, Katarina Klančnik Kocutar, Lucijan Jošt, and Tin Matuš.

The exhibition is open from 16 to 31 August 2025 during box office opening hours and one hour before events.