Premiere 2021
For children aged 3 and up
Running time: 30 minutes
Production: FRU-FRU Puppet Theatre and House of Children and Arts
Special technical requirements for the performance:
Minimum stage area: 4 x 3 meters
Ability to completely darken the space
House of Blocks
There are two sisters in the room. The older one practices the violin, and the younger one, Jelka, constantly disturbs her with the desire to play together. And when Jelka builds her house out of blocks, the older sister accepts her game and together they set off into a wonderful fairytale world, where a cat, a chicken and a chimney sweep live on the walls of the house. However, when the neighbor’s dog, which was torn from the chain in the storm, knocks down the house, Jelka sets off on a long journey in search of someone who will sew a chimney sweep’s button on her dress. After all, the button brings luck and without luck the house cannot be put back.
The play House of Blocks is based on the fairy tale of the same name by Ela Peroci. Although almost without words, the play draws inspiration from the symbols and thoughts that Ela Peroci wrote almost seventy years ago. The story of friendship, misfortune and the help of friends and strangers is especially relevant today. The intertwining of live music, movement and modern puppetry techniques create an intimate theatrical experience.
Premiere: December 10, 2021
Based on the story by: ELA PEROCI • Direction: IRENA RAJH • Dramaturgy: ANŽE VIRANT • Visual Design and Set Design: ŠPELA TROBEC • Music: SAMO VOVK and BARBARA GRAHOR VOVK • Puppet Technology and Construction: MARJAN KUNAVER, ALEKSANDER ANDŽELOVIĆ, and DMITRY AINUTDINOV • Costume Design: IZTOK HRGA • Video Animation: MIHA ŠUBIC • Set Construction: GORAZD RAJH • Scenography and Puppet Painting: MARINA HROVATIN • Live Music and Performance: TAMARA PEPELNIK • Performance and Puppetry: BARBARA KANC • Production: House of Children and Arts and FRU-FRU Puppet Theatre
Responses and awards
- The performance was included in the programme of the Bobri Festival, Ljubljana 2022
- The performance was included in the programme of the Summer Puppet Pier Festival, Maribor 2023
- The performance was included in the programme of the Trallallero Festival, Čenta – Tarcento, Italy 2023
- The performance was included in the programme of the Tobogan Festival, Rijeka, Croatia 2024
Expert Committee’s Opinion:
The performance draws from the context of children’s play and invites the audience into a world filled with exploration, experimentation, and wonder. Through playful and dynamic manipulation of wooden blocks as the central scenic and animation element, it reveals the magic of a simple activity that becomes an adventure in itself.
The performer builds and rearranges the blocks, while simultaneously diving into a world of imagination, discovering new fragments of stories and secrets within them. The Little House of Blocks weaves together puppetry, movement, music, and video animation into a visually and narratively vibrant environment—one that also serves as an intimate space of experience, shaped by the playfulness of two sisters and the unstoppable curiosity of childhood.
