text: Charles Perrault
directing and adaptation: Marek Becka
music: Vit Brukner, Jose
puppet and set design: Robert Smolik
language supervisor. Mateja Dermelj
light and sound shaping: Tilen Vipotnik
actors: Jose and Gasper Jarni / Tomislav Tomšič
Puppet performance for children from 3 years up.
Specially recommended to kindergardens and juniors in primary schools.
Production: MINI TEATER Ljubljana
Opening night: October 5, 2005
Marek Becka, one of the most interesting graduates of the famous DAMU in Prague, and now also a professor in this prominent European theatre academy, decided to prepare the famous story about the CAT IN THE BOOTS in his own, original and specific way - on the stage of Mini teater. - marek Becka was born in Pilsen in 1964; in his rich theatrical career (he graduated at the Theatre Academy DAMU in Prague), he worked as an actor in the theatre DRAK, Hradec karlowe, and later, as a free-lance, he prepared a number of street and puppet performances for the youngest audience. In 1991, he founded the theatre Bouchty a Loutky (=doughnuts and puppets) where in 13 years he created more than 25 performances - some of them are well known to the Slovenian audience from international festivals like LUTKE, Mini Summer, Lutkovni Pristan, or Primorski poletni festival...) - Marek Becka works also with other theatres in the Check Republic. His directin for Mini teater will be his first directin in Slovenia. (He lead a number of workshops with professional and off-theatre puppeteers from Check Republic to Hong Kong.)
The project PUSS IN BOOTS is being created for our youngest spectators; it belong to the line of our projects working on basis of a famous literary groundwork and creating research puppet performances and this medium in general. The case was very similar with the Happy Prince by Oscar wilde and Luis Zornoza Boy. - This is definitela an interesting and intriguing project bringing innovativity and a great deal of specific puppeters humour into our theatre, a humour that si so typical for marek Becka.
THE STORY: There were three brothers who inherited after their father's death. The first brother was smart but not very good in cahracter, so he took the mill, the second took all the money, and for the youngest one there was nothing left except for the poor cat. The young man was very sad and depressed, but suddenly he hears the Puss speak. What a surprise! The young man has to make a promise to act exactly as the Puss says. Their way to happines lies wide open, the cat promises. - The Puss starts immediately to be nice to the King and his pretty daughter, offering them presents and compliments - all from His Highness Count of Strrrawledge (which is the young man's name now). One day when the young mans is taking a bath in a pond, the Puss hides his clothes and starts shouting they were stolen. The King and his daughter driving around in their carriage hear these cries. The King gives the young man new clothes and invites him into the carriage. The princess and the young man fall in love with each other immediately. Meanwhile the Puss hurries across the fields and meadows asking the farmers to say all thah land belonged to the Count of Strrrawlrdge. But not everything goes smooth. The owner of the land and the castle is a giant who is a sorcerer. The smart Puss asks him to show him his magic power by changing first into a lion ... and then by changing into a mouse - and then the Puss eats the mouse up in a second! When the King arrives to the castle he is thrilled and happy so he offers his pretty daughter to the young man in marriage. Ding, ding! Happy end!
Sponsor is Poštna banka Slovenije, d.d. www.pbs.si 
