2022 Svanen (The Swan), Danish-Czech puppet theatre, Denmark

Since 1993, the puppet theatre, Svanen, has given Danish children and their families a variety of cultural experiences. The theatre has performed in schools, kindergartens, libraries, in community center and culture houses, in churches and theatres in Denmark and abroad. In the course of those years the theatre has contributed significantly to the promotion of a variety of Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales and have reached large audiences.

Svanen’s puppeteers and only members are Kim Westi and Patricie Homolova. They are both experienced actors and stage directors, with experiences including both traditional and puppet theatre. They themselves manufacture the puppets for their performances. With their wooden chisels they imbue the puppets with an individual expression, personality, a kind of soul. This soul seems to manifest itself in the apparent life of the puppets moving on the stage by the hands of Kim and Patricia. Puppet theatre is not only a craft, but a noble form of narrative art.  Svanen is a puppet theatre which fully masters this art. There fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen are brought to a new life through Kim’s and Patricie’s handmade puppets, their set designs, and their narrative style.