(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) It was an 'out of the box' idea, which became famous worldwide. Now, the Augsburger Puppenkiste, a German marionette puppet theatre founded by Walter Oehmichen, which actually started off from a wooden box, will bring to the children of Muscat 'Baby Kangaroo and Worry Bunny,' a fantastic tale of friends and their little berry-picking adventure told the fun way.Brought to Muscat by the Goethe-Institute Gulf region, Augsburger Puppenkiste will stage shows over four days from October 17.Christian Seiffert, cultural attach at the German Embassy in Muscat said, ''Classical concerts are apt for adults but there was a lack of entertainment for children. I thought that the plays might be well suited to all children and decided to ask Augsburger Puppenkiste if they would like to perform here, and they agreed.''The theatre has been around for more than 60 years and generations of Germans have fond memories of all the plays they have performed.''The historic theatre located in Augsburg which began with puppet shows in the 1940s later moved on to produce theatrical adaptations of fairy tales and serious pieces. Soon, it began producing television series and gained prominence. About the dates of the shows, he said, ''The ensemble's schedule is dictated by programme. It is only from mid-October that they have time to travel the world. Their visit also coincides with the opening of the new GUtech campus in Halban and so that is the best time when we can entertain audiences in a new location.''Four shows for Omani schoolchildren are scheduled between October 17 and 20. Each day will have two shows “ at 9am and 12 noon. ''Each show is of 45 minutes and the artistes have requested a break of at least 90 minutes between the shows,'' Seiffert said.The other two shows are slated for October 18 and 19 for the German and international communities. ''On these days the shows will start at 3.30pm. At each performance, we will be able to host 150 school students including teachers and staff so that a total of 600 students can be entertained. We will be able to accommodate around 300 to 400 on October 18 and 19,'' said Seiffert.All shows will be held at GUtech's Halban campus and seating will be on first come first served basis. There are no tickets for the show.On what made the embassy bring Augsburger Puppenkiste to Oman, Seiffert said, ''When the German Embassy thinks about organising events to showcase German culture to the host nation, it's important to explore new ideas to present the acts in different settings to audiences. Marionette theatre gives us the chance to do so. This German artform has a tradition in this region that might bring people across different cultures and ages together.''
