Organized
every alternate year since 1992, the Pakistan International Puppet Festival
is considered an important festival in South East Asia with its venue set
in the historic city of Lahore. It has served as a good meeting point for
Eastern and Western Puppeteers and puppet companies to be able to interact
and see each others work.
The festival constitutes all kinds, forms and styles of puppetry from traditional to modern to experimental.
Inspite of organizational and unforeseeable difficulties, government indifference and non-help, the festival has been a tremendous success. With each festival we intend to improve and make it better.
The Festival is held at one central site, featuring 22 performances in one day. The Festival has 2 closed theatre facilities, an open air theatre and 9 camp theatres, built out of canvas with wooden stage. Sound and lighting facilities are made available to the performing groups. Other than performances the festival features exhibitions on puppet theatre, lectures, films, documentaries, workshops and seminars spread over the 11 days of the Festivals.
The Festival offers hospitality, which covers hotel stay, food, local, transportation and sightseeing tours to some historic sites in the city of Lahore.
If you wish to participate in the festival, you should contact the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop
The first Festival was dedicated to Peace Around the World. Our second festival was devoted to Environmental Conservation. The Third festival was devoted to Freedom and Independance. In the future festivals, we intend to pursue the same themes but with a broader outlook.
If you wish to know more about the festivals and/or the groups that participated in them, choose one of the below archives...
