National Theatre of the Republic of Karelia was established in 1932. Being at the junction of many cultural traditions, absorbing all the best, the theatre does not lose its originality throughout its activities. It continues to share with the audience a secret love for the native word, music, folklore, history.
The repertoire includes Russian and foreign classics, plays by contemporary Finnish and Russian authors. The appeal to Kalevala epos and the history of Karelia is unchanged. The performances are played in the languages of the indigenous ethnic groups of the Republic of Karelia: Russian, Finnish, Karelian and Vepsian.
Theatre projects include festivals, tours, educational programmes. The theatre tour map includes cities in Finland and Russia. The performances of the theatre several times became the laureates of the Onega Mask Award (the Highest Theatre Award of the Republic of Karelia).
Puppet Theatre of the Republic of Karelia is one of the oldest puppet theatres in Russia. In 2015 the theatre celebrated its 80th anniversary. The theatre carefully preserves and develops the traditions of the puppet theatre art. Currently this is a modern theatre with a highly professional team and performances that are popular with the audience.
The Puppet Theatre is one of the organizers of the festivals “Kuklantida”, “Lambushka”, “Mill of Fairy Tales” and “Lift”. It participates in international and Russian festivals and competitions, carries out joint projects with the theatres of Finland, Sweden and Norway and exchange tours with Vologda, Lipetsk, Kaliningrad, Omsk, Murmansk, Belgorod and Kursk puppet theatres.
Current repertoire of the theatre includes about fifty performances for spectators of different age categories (classical fairy tales, innovative performances for children and adults), different methods and systems of puppelling: performances with tablet puppets and finger, with puppets, with a live plan, with a theatre of shadows and objects as well as traditional screen performances with cane dolls. The performances of the theatre several times became the laureates of the Onega Mask Award (the Highest Theatre Award of the Republic of Karelia) in the Best Performance for Children nomination.
At the moment the creative activity of the theatre makes a significant contribution to the development of professional theatrical art in the Republic of Karelia in particular and in Russia in general. The theatre was awarded the Fyodor Volkov Prize, the prestigious theatre prize in Russia.