Adaptation Author, Director, Music by: Matija Solce
Set Designers: Tomáš Žižka, Nerea Cuesta Garcia
Dramaturgy by: Jelena Sitar, Benjamin Zajc
Co-writer of Music: Filip Šebšajevič
Assistant Director: Tončica Knez
Set Designers’ Assistant: Katarina Planinc
Lighting Designer: Kristjan Vidner
Props Technologists: Zoran Srdić, Olga Milić
Stage Manager and Sound designer: Aleš Erjavec
Producer: Alja Cerar Mihajlović
Lighting Direction: Kristjan Vidner
Set Technician: Stanko Božanić
Puppets, Set and Costume Production: Olga Milić, Iztok Bobić, David Klemenčič, Sandra Birjukov, Marjetka Valjavec, Nerea Cuesta Garcia, Blaž Vrhovec, Uroš Mehle, Zoran Srdić
Production: Ljubljana Puppet Theatre
Performed by: Asja Kahrimanović Babnik, Gašper Malnar, Miha Arh, Filip Šebšajevič g.a.

‘Darkroom’ is an object-music cabaret based on ‘The Steadfast Tin Soldier’ by Hans Christian Andersen’s, which is considered one of his most famous stories, but also the first one not based on a literary source or a folk tale.
In his imagination, Andersen animates flowers, cups and statuettes by attributing a primordial trait to them. If a flower flourishes, it is conceited. In this respect, Andersen’s expression is distinctly puppet-like, since his objects always act as subjects. If a soldier falls off a shelf, he fell because he wanted to escape.
In the same way, ‘Darkroom’ also explores the traits of objects from their perspective and brings them to life in a primal way. The rhythmical text and expressive musical passages and phrases are then woven into an active relationship with them, creating a relationship between minimalism and cacophony, and contrasts between the atmosphere of the tea ceremony and the live animation of the material. And like Andersen, the performance exposes its soldier-viewer to the elements of earth, air, water and fire, but places them in a photography studio, a darkroom.
In this darkroom, objects, animators, and spectators leave memory imprints of events from their city and those from Andersen’s stories. The imprints then literally evolve before our eyes and enter into new relationships. They manifest themselves between granite paving stones, lead spoons, discarded cans and screws. See the world from the perspective of tin soldiers who never wanted to be soldiers.

Matija Solce
A renowned and award-winning puppet director, actor, puppeteer and musician, holds a PhD from the DAMU Academy in Prague. His work closely intertwines music and theatre, so his puppet performances are also interactive musical compositions. Often in the form of object theatre, they contain precise rhythmic animation with a fragmented dramaturgy, through which the audience becomes part of the theatrical experiment and is constantly in the process of discovering the unexpected.

Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana
Slovenia’s main puppet theatre staging puppet and drama performances for children, youngsters and adults. Its predominant target audiences are children and young people. The public institution was established in 1948 (as the City Puppet Theatre) and has been based in Mestni dom in Krekov Square since 1984. 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. The theatre manages five regular and several smaller, occasional venues. At these venues, which offer seating for approximately a thousand people, it produces fifteen premieres a year and is visited by around 110,000 spectators.

Reviews
“A spectator familiar with the productions directed by Matija Solce expects a theatrical experience filled with music, witty humour, thoughtful irony, masterfully crafted animation, interactivity and a tense atmosphere. In this respect, Darkroom follows the development of the artist’s style and offers all of the above. […] The creators showcase their animation, acting and music skills, and take the audience into a photographic laboratory. Each object here represents an opportunity to rediscover it and search for its material qualities, sound and meaning. Each object can tell its own story and is used to recreate Andersen’s story of the tin soldier and the paper ballerina.”, ‘Ocenjujemo: Darkroom’, Maša Jazbec, Delo, 23 September 2022.