!!!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%%sup 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 Ursprungslaendern Europas, 1984; G. Rohrbach, Analyse 
einiger im oesterreichischen Fernsehen ausgestrahlter Handpuppenspiele 
fuer Kinder, doctoral thesis, Vienna 1974; Puppentheater in 
Oesterreich, 1987.


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