Pupi & Pini 2025 - Street theater review

Pupi & Pini 2025 in Lignano Sabbiadoro. For over 30 years, this festival of street and puppet theatre has been a cherished part of the summer for thousands of tourists who choose the golden beaches and pinewoods of Lignano Sabbiadoro. This year, for its 31st edition, Parco Hemingway will once again become the perfect stage to experience the magic of open-air theatre.

The beauty of Puppet Theatre lies precisely in this: using just a few simple materials — fabric, wood, foam rubber, clay — characters, puppets, and marionettes are brought to life and become the true stars of the show, making us almost forget about the puppeteer behind the scenes.

It’s a play that repeats itself every time: theatre looking in the mirror, stepping out of everyday reality to take us into a world of imagination, emotion, and wonder.

And it’s also a game between those on stage and those watching. The audience is swept away by the beauty of fantasy. And when a puppet takes the stage, the magic becomes even more special — a unique bond is formed between the viewer and the animated figure, enchanting and dreamlike.

Free admission to all performances.
Event organized by Teatro del Drago and the Monticelli Family.

Summer 2025 programming

It is possible to download the complete programming in the area below in the download section.
 

July 2025

Wednesday, July 2 – 9:30 PM
Piazzetta del Sole
Pu-pazzi d’amore – All’InCirco Teatro
Tragicomic love stories in pastel tones, told with the innocence and lightness of inanimate objects. Marionettes, hand puppets, and dolls take part in surreal, amusing, grotesque, and at times poetic scenes… a blossoming and metamorphosis towards the awareness that nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, but everything transforms.
Street and puppet theatre (string marionettes, hand puppets, mechanical stage sets).

Monday, July 7 – 9:30 PM
Parco Hemingway
Sibylla’s Tales – Zaches Teatro
A quirky researcher, inspired by 17th-century naturalist and painter Marie Sibylla Merian, explores the forest with tweezers and a flashlight. Through insects and plants, she brings long-standing fairy tales to life, intertwining them with her personal experience.
Thanks to the magic of puppet theatre and a captivating interplay of sounds and voices, Little Red Riding Hood takes shape, revealing its symbolic meanings.
Puppet theatre (shadows, puppets, marionettes).

Monday, July 14 – 9:30 PM
City Center Parade
Steam Folk from These and Other Lands – Grande Cantagiro Barattoli
A merry band of charlatans, jesters, acrobats, and storytellers from times gone by take to the streets. Get ready for timeless melodies, crazy jigs, working-class tales, and distant sailors’ songs.
Each song tells a story, every tune is a reason to dance, and every prank—whether planned or improvised—is made to make you laugh.
So come along! Follow this travelling theatre made of bolts and gears, dance with its mechanical puppets, and be enchanted by costumes stolen from the folds of time.
Musical street theatre.

Monday, July 21 – 9:30 PM
Parco Hemingway
Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves – Teatro dell’Erba Matta
From One Thousand and One Nights comes the tale of Ali Baba, a humble woodcutter blessed by fortune, his greedy brother Cassim, and Mustafà, the clueless leader of 40 thieves guarding a treasure hidden in a cave.
Only the magic words "Open Sesame" allow access.
A famous and entertaining tale, brought to life with oversized cartoon-like figures.
Actor and puppet theatre.

Wednesday, July 23 – 8:30 & 10:30 PM
Public Library
Affetto d’Amore – Franco Di Bernardino
Mr. Mustache is driven by one stubborn goal: to find love. He tries to be charming but ends up awkward. He wants to be a modern-day Casanova, but only has a red rose and a vintage air.
A story of love with a woman chosen from the audience, filled with unexpected mishaps, colorful fixes, strange ideas, and a trusty roll of duct tape.
Will he win her heart? In love, the unexpected is always lurking.
Street theatre and juggling.

Wednesday, July 30 – 9:30 PM
Parco Hemingway
The Land Where No One Ever Dies – Albe/Ravenna Teatro - Teatro Caverna - Ker Théâtre Mandiaye N’Diaye
In a blend of African and Italian storytelling, a young "tubab" (Senegalese term for "white person") refuses to accept death and embarks on a journey to the land where no one dies.
She meets eccentric wise men who offer humorous and poetic alternatives for long life.
They come from "another world"—Africa, or perhaps the beyond—since, as in any true fairy tale, the setting is the realm of dreams, a bridge between worlds.
Because the fear that unites us all is the one we can’t always name.
Actor theatre.

August 2025

Monday, August 4 – 9:00 PM
Public Library
Pimpa’s Little House – Liberipensatori Paul Valery
Created by Altan in May 1975, Pimpa is the beloved little dog of Italian children. In this show, each child can identify with Pimpa and share in her dreams, fantasies, and adventures.
Her magical world—filled with animals and talking objects—offers an alternative to the hyper-technological environment kids face daily.
Pimpa peeks out the window and invites everyone to play, explore life, and embrace its surprises.
Actor and puppet theatre.

Wednesday, August 6 – 9:00 PM
Corso delle Nazioni – Lignano Riviera
Alice in Wonderland – Compagnia degli Sbuffi
Alice falls through a rabbit hole into a fantastical world of strange creatures.
In this version, Lewis Carroll himself steps out of a giant book and discovers his main characters—Alice, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts—have run off!
He must leave the preface and go find them.
Walking theatre with actors and puppets.

Monday, August 11 – 9:00 PM
Parco Hemingway
The Great Ventriloquini – Madame Rebiné
This isn’t a show description—it’s a cry for help!
I, Gianni Calzino, and my colleague Klaus the Clown beg the audience to help convince the Great Ventriloquini to update his tired repertoire.
He’s stuck in the past, but thanks to his puppets’ push, he may just embrace change.
A story of renewal, full of magic and ventriloquism.

Wednesday, August 13 – 5:30 PM
Public Library
The Little Black Fish – by Luca Zalateu and Serena Vizzutti
The Little Black Fish feels the call of the sea and leaves the brook where he was born to discover what lies beyond.
Will his courage be enough to face dangers and challenges? What matters most is the memory he leaves behind.
The story is brought to life with voice and harp, blending in harmony to create an emotional and beautiful tale.
A musical story that resonates in all of us.

Monday, August 18 – 9:00 PM
Piazzetta del Sole
Put Your Heart Into It – Nina Theatre
Without words—only with glances, music, and smiles—puppets and everyday objects come to life.
The actress, with charm and mastery, turns them into adorable, funny, touching characters who tell stories without speaking.
A cabaret-style show that’s elegant, playful, and poetic—enchanting audiences of all ages.
Silent object and actor theatre.

Monday, August 25 – 9:00 PM
Parco Hemingway
Tufted Henrietta – Teatro Perdavvero
A queen gives birth to a very ugly girl with a tuft of hair, named Henrietta. A fairy predicts she’ll be so intelligent and charming that everyone will love her, and she’ll make her true love just as clever and delightful.
Meanwhile, in another kingdom, a beautiful but slow-witted prince is born.
Their meeting will change both their destinies.
Storytelling theatre with live music.