TRANSPORT: DEPARTURE. Ljubljana Puppet Theatre (Slovenia)

Authors: Tin Grabnar and Ajda Rooss
Director and concept author: Tin Grabnar
Dramaturge: Ajda Rooss
Art and set designer: Sara Slivnik
Costume designer: Tina Bonča
Cast: Aja Kobe, Ajda Toman
Composer and sound designer: Mateja Starič
Lighting designer: Gregor Kuhar
3D model and figure designer: Aleksander Andželović
Wireless lighting system designer: Matej Lazar
Assistants to the puppet designer: Katarina Planinc and Laura Krajnc

Collecting, developing and preparing story material for the performance Departure and the overall conceptual design of the Transport project: Tjaša Bertoncelj, Ana Duša, Tin Grabnar, Urša Majcen and Ajda Rooss

Sound designer and stage manager: Luka Bernetič
Producer: Alja Cerar Mihajlović
Lighting technician: Gregor Kuhar
Stage Technician: Kemal Vrabac Kordiš
LGL workshops manager: Zoran Srdić
Heads of LGM and LGL workshops: Lorena Bukovec, Naja Bell, Branko Caserman, Lucijan Jošt, Zala Kalan, Laura Krajnc, Miljenko Knezoci, Tin Matuš, Olga Milić, Mitja Pastirk, Katarina Planinc, Nuka Sajko Ferreira, Zoe Špehar
Project supported by the European Commission under the Creative Europe programme
Photos by: Miha Fras

Co-production:
Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana (Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Slovenia)
Lutkovno gledališče Maribor (Maribor Puppet Theatre, Slovenia)
Białostocki Teatr Lalek (Bialystok Puppet Theatre, Poljska)
Eesti Noorsooteater (Estonian Theatre for Young Audiences, Estonia)
Klaipėdos lėlių teatras (Klaipėda Puppet Theatre, Lithuania)
Divadlo ALFA (Theatre ALFA, the Czech Republic)

Premiere: November 9, 2024

The performance ‘Transport: Departure’ (slv.: ‘Transport: Odhod’) is part of the international Creative Europe Transport project, initiated by Slovenian director Tin Grabnar. In the 2024–2025 season, it connects six theatres from Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Poland.

The genre-diverse performances, characterised by hyper-realistic miniature visual imagery and complex soundscapes, unite audiences in an intimate confrontation with the pressing issues of contemporary society. The underlying theme of these performances, which are structurally and thematically intertwined, is the issue of transport as one of the main foundations of globalisation, driven by insatiable economic development.

The Ljubljana production sheds light on its consequences, especially through the excessive exploitation of natural resources, which leads to the disruption of ecosystem balance. This imbalance is increasingly manifesting itself in the rise of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and wildfires, affecting millions of people worldwide.

In addition to ecological concerns, the performance also addresses the inadequacies of spatial planning policies, which, through reckless infrastructure expansion and the interests of urban developers, further increase environmental vulnerability by disregarding ecological limitations and the capacity of ecosystems.

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre (slv.: Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana (LGL)) is the main Slovenian puppet theatre staging puppet and drama performances for children, youngsters and adults. Its predominant target audiences are children and young people. In its work, the theatre builds on the hundred-year tradition of Slovenian puppetry. With the establishment of the Museum of Puppetry at the Ljubljana Castle, the LPT officially became the caretaker of this precious, century-old heritage. 

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre also pays special attention to cultural and artistic education in all its dimensions and at the national level cooperates in the endeavours to strengthen the standards and systemically place quality cultural content in the programmes of educational institutions. 

Director Tin Grabnar, who works across a broad range of performative and theatrical practices, is a profound investigator of contemporary puppetry art. He explores theatrical communication, tests a wide spectrum of different performance strategies, and investigates innovative staging techniques. He creates powerful visual images that open up deep emotional, ethical, and philosophical questions. For the productions Somewhere Else and Still Life, produced by the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre (Slovenia), he has received numerous national and international awards.