The 16th Turku International Puppetry Festival will be held November 12–15, 2026. The performance program has now been released and consists of five new Finnish contemporary puppet theater productions, as well as one French-Portuguese performance. The programme will be further supplemented over the summer with additional events, such as workshops, production presentations, discussions, and a programme aimed at puppetry professionals.
The festival’s main venue is Cultural Factory Manilla, and performances will also take place at o the Turku City Theater, Childrens cultural centre Färi, and Åbo Svenska Teater.
“The first biennial edition of TIP-Fest has allowed for long-term preparation of the event and a longer period to secure funding for it during these increasingly challenging times, both economically and socially. There is strength in collaboration, and we have gained new partners for the festival while reinforcing our relationships with organisations we already work closely with—one example being Festival club at Tehdas Theatre’s “speakeasy” Salakapakka club x TIP-Fest. All in all, this year’s side program is shaping up to be exceptionally rich, and it clearly reflects the contributions of various communities and partners,” says Festival Director Taru Tuomisto.
Visual experiences, shadow theater, physical theater, and more performances for the whole family
This year’s festival theme, “Communities,” will be explored in various ways throughout the festival: “The themes of the performances include, among other things, family, national history, finding one’s own community, and communities in nature. Nearly all of the works in the program will be seen in Turku for the first time,” says the festival’s Artistic Director Outi Sippola, introducing this year’s program.
Turku City Theater’s Small Stage will host the impressive production The Tranquility of Black Flowers by the Poiesis collective. The performance tells the story of poet Katri Vala’s fiery life and slow death, combining contemporary puppet theater, physical theater with audiovisual storytelling.
At the Åbo Svenska Teater Studio, the visually striking production Polaroid by the French-Portuguese company Mecanika will take place. Directed by Paulo Duarte, the performance combines puppets, shadow theater, and video projections with live music. Social changes examined through the Duarte family’s photo album—such as the rise of fascism—blend with personal memories and fiction, creating fleeting “theatrical polaroids” on stage.
“Puppet theater has traditionally been used to comment on local events, those in power, and community norms. Throughout history, puppets have said things that actors have not dared to say in their own names,” reminds Outi Sippola.
Tehdas Teatteri, Theatre Quo Vadis, and Bredenberg&Taussi – Visual Theater will bring the spirit summer Manilla’s Jokistudio in the middle of gloomy November. The performance On the Life of Plants draws its inspiration from texts that theoretically explore plant life and the nature of plants, as well as from sensory observations. Plants are not merely the subject of description; they are recognized by the group as creators in their own right. The result is a thrillingly poetic and surprising performance that combines visual and physical theater.
The festival’s family-friendly programme features Rakastajat Theater’s Vaaria etsimässä. Combining humor and adventure, the story explores intergenerational encounters, caring for one another, and life’s big questions from a child’s perspective. TeatteriQo’s The Meadow, invites audiences into nature to explore the fascinating and ever-changing world of a flowering meadow. This visually rich performance brings to life the small wonders that often go unnoticed and offers a peaceful, sensory-stimulating theatrical experience for all ages. The third family-friendly performance is Ad Astra’s Jasmine and the Squirrel. This production combines music, puppets, and a real-life story to explore the courage to be oneself. It tells the story of Jasmine, a Romani girl, on her journey toward her dreams, as well as the themes of friendship, family, and finding one’s own voice.
This year’s TIP-Fest will also celebrate 15th anniversary of Block Theatre. Having toured extensively both in Finland and abroad, KO-KOO-MO’s Block Theatre performances are an ode to wooden blocks and the series of life-imitating structures they form. Turku City Theatre’s Sopukka features two performance variations of Block theatre with a special emphasis on different communities invited to the performances.
TIP-Fest, the highlight of November, invites all puppet theater lovers—and their friends—to join the festival fun from November 12–15, 2026! Tickets for the festival will go on sale during the first week of September.
