About the Festival

The International Puppet Festival The Golden Dolphin was established in 1972. Its 19th issue is in 2025. It is held once in every three years, from 1st to 7th October.

Let's look at the beginning...

The year is 1969. State Puppet Theatre of Varna is an initiator of state theatre celebrations. Its success is unexpected and it turns into festival of the Bulgarian puppet theatre play next year. On October 1972, the first international festival of the Bulgarian puppet play is opened officially. This is The Golden Dolphin. A unique forum appears on the palette of the international theatre festivals to support and defend the Bulgarian puppet dramaturgy for many years yet.

The Golden Dolphin Award

Since then, The Golden Dolphin takes place every three years, in the beginning of October, in Varna. “Your rose is so precious for you, because of the time you spent for it”, the Fox says to the Little Prince. When this is time, enthusiasm, efforts and goodwill of thousands of people – organizers, creators, followers from far and near places, public figures and audience, then the confirmation of The Golden Dolphin is possible and it turns into a centre of best achievements in the puppet theatre art all over the world. The festival becomes a significant event in the chronicles of our national culture. It promotes the development of the Bulgarian puppet theatre and contributes to its popularity here and abroad.

During past 40 years The Golden Dolphin attracted the attention of imminent Bulgarian authors like Valeri Petrov, Rada Moskova, Yordan Radichkov, Boris Aprilov and many others to the problematics of the puppet theatre for children. Their works reveal in a new light the puppet theatre social function. Along with this, the festival is a stage giving way to the expression of brilliant talents in the field of puppet staging, stage design, music and acting. The parallel programs: workshops, seminars, stage design exhibitions, theoretical conferences, meetings, discussions, enjoy the exceptional interest by the festival participants and guests.

Within the last editions, these are:

  • Educational theatre – open seminars and demonstrative performances of a new theatre form supporting the educational program in the primary school;
  • Puppets and Therapy – the puppet theatre as a mean of expression in the communication to help the disabled children;
  • Exhibitions of imminent stage designers and of stage design projects by stage design students from Krastyu Sarafov NATFA and the National Academy of Arts.
 

The changes in the Bulgarian society at the end of past century impose some changes in the festival statute. So, the tenth festival edition in 1996 is held in three sections:

  • Staging a new Bulgarian puppet play or after a Bulgarian stage adaptation of an artistic work written after the last festival edition;
  • A puppet performance for children;
  • A puppet performance for adults

The performances from the competition program are assessed by an international jury, the members of which are imminent experts in the field of puppet theatre art and by a children’s jury established at the last few editions.

The Golden Dolphin…

A festival of respecting traditions that develops and grows up over years because it draws life-giving water from the never failing source of this ancient and modern art.

A festival wanted and waited for by the creators and the audience because it had never disappointed their hopes to see the newest, the best, the most interesting of what is made on both Bulgarian and worldwide puppet stage; to commensurate their own works with those of their colleagues in an exceptionally kind-hearted and supporting professional environment; to meet both new and old friends…

Where is the Dolphins' gold kept…

2022

Performances for children:

  • State Puppet Theatre, Varna, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award  to the performance “Through the Looking Glass” – Musical adapted from the novel by Lewis Carroll
 

Performances for adults:

  • State Puppet Theatre, Almaty, Kazakhstan – The Golden Dolphin greatest award  to the performance “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare
 

2017

Performances for adults:

  • State Puppet Theatre, Varna, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award  to the performance „Orpheus”- visual performance based on motifs from ancient mythology, director – Boian Ivanov
 

2014

Performances for children:

  • Sofia Puppet Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award for an overall performance to Tale of the Wandering King, after Karel Čapek, directed by Katya Petrova
  • Special awards for worthy debuting at the Golden Dolphin Festival to The Key Theatre , Tel Aviv, Israel and to The Puppet Theatre Haet-Sal , Suwon, Korea
 

2011

Performances for children:

  • Sofia Puppet Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award to the performance The Story of the Seagull and the Gang of Tomcats, direction  by Katya Petrova
 

Performances for adults:

  • State Puppet Theatre, Varna, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award to the performance Outlook of a Stump, direction by Tedy Moskov, Co-production of SPT Plovdiv, SPT Stara Zagora, SPT Burgas
  • Special prize to the performance Oedipus, The Feast of Blindness
 

2008

  • Sofia Puppet Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award  to the performance The Big Laugh by Maria Stankova, direction by Veselka Kuncheva, Graduate Student`s Company, Sofia, Bulgaria
  • Special prize to the performances Jack and the Bean Stalk; Beyond Boundaries, direction by Zheni Pashova
 

2005

  • State Puppet Theatre, Varna, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award  to the performance A Story About the Singing Tree after Langeskøld Hoffmann, stage adaptation and direction by Slavcho Malenov
 

2002

  • State Puppet Theatre, Varna, Bulgaria – Special prize to the performance Hercules, script and direction by Sunny Suninski
  • Libelula Puppet Theatre, Segovia, Spain – Special prize to the performance The Defendant of France, directed by Julio Michel
 

1999

  • Atelier 313 Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award to the performance Buratino directed by Slavcho Malenov
  • Ariel Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria – Special prize to the performance Cardboard Dreams directed by Ruben Garabedyan
 

1996

  • State Puppet Theatre, Varna, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award  for overall highly professional performance
 

1993

  • Credo Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award  to the performance Greatcoat after N. V. Gogol
 

1990

  • Puk Theatre, Tokyo, Japan – A gold medal to the performance A Rabbits’ School by Pencho Manchev
 

1988

  • Dora Gabe Puppet Theatre, Tolbuhin, Bulgaria – A gold medal to the performance Ones Can It, Others Not by Stefan Moskov and Simon Shvarz
 

1984

  • Naivni Divadlo Theatre – Liberec, Czechoslovakia – A gold medal to the performance Cosse Bosse’s Song by Rada Moskova
  • State Puppet Theatre, Plovdiv, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award  to the performance Puck by Valeri Petrov
 

1981

  • Skazka Puppet Theatre, Leningrad, USSR – A gold medal to the performance Where Are You Going, Little Horse by Rada Moskova
  • State Puppet Theatre, Varna, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award  to the performance Booboo by Dimitar Tochev
  • State Puppet Theatre, Plovdiv, Bulgaria – A gold medal to the performance The Egg by Boris Aprilov
  • Sofia Puppet Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria – A gold medal to the performance Ragazza by Stanislav Stratiev
 

1978

  • Czwerc Puppet Theatre – Białystok, Poland – The Golden Dolphin greatest award  to the performance The Six Little Penguins by Boris Aprilov
  • H. K. Andersen Puppet Theatre, Lublin, Poland – A gold medal to the performance Where Are You Going, Little Horse by Rada Moskova
  • State Puppet Theatre, Varna, Bulgaria – The Golden Dolphin greatest award  to the performances Rumeto and the Old Lion by Ivan Ostrikov and The Happiest Man by Maxim Asenov
  • State Puppet Theatre, Plovdiv, Bulgaria – A gold medal to the performance Cosse Bosse by Rada Moskova
 

1975

  • Bolshoy Theatre Kukol, Leningrad, USSR – A gold medal to the performance Wolf and Kids by Nedyalko Yordanov
  • State Puppet Theatre, Varna, Bulgaria – A gold medal to the performances The Golden Bird and Your Little Star
 

1972

  • Czwerc Puppet Theatre – Białystok, Poland – A gold medal to the performance The Merry Roosters by Atanas Mochurov
  • State Puppet Theatre, Varna, Bulgaria – A gold medal to the performance Maximka by Yordan Todorov