Sadly Chris, I think the state of Polish puppetry has declined in recent years.
As to the technical level of the puppeteers, I am not really able to make a comparison but the shows I have seen are very much actor based rather than puppetry based. A few years ago a friend of mine who worked in theatre management told me that for financial reasons the puppetry world had moved more into children's theatre. Coupled with this, many people who were not able to get into acting school went to puppetry school and then worked as "live" actors in children's shows. How accurate this was, I don't know but the shows I have seen at the local puppet theatre were predominantly actor-based or with the puppeteer swapping between playing the character and manipulating the puppet. As you can see on the website, there are some more heavily puppetry based pieces and some wonderful figures.
http://www.teatrlalek.olsztyn.pl/galeri ... ;18,0.htmlIndeed, in the theatre foyer there are displays of wonderful figures which, sadly, seem to be more reminiscent of the past than representing the present. In the old days the theatre (and cinema) used to travel around to different villages and do shows but I don't think this happens anymore.
There are still major theatres in places like Krakow, Lodz and Warsaw but as to the level of their work, I can't say because I haven't seen them. The puppetry school at Bialystok is still going and has had guest teachers like Dan Bishop. Indeed, I once met an Italian Pulcinella player who had learned swazzle from Dan whilst studying there.
So, I suppose, what I am aware of is that whilst there is a long tradition of puppetry, it is certainly not widely visible where I am. True, the theatre is often full with school trips and has an annual festival but apart from this there is little variety at any other time of the year. Even on major holidays there is not much evidence of it. On TV, it is similar to Britain, sub-muppet-style entities or the occasional animatronic piece. I know of one other puppeteer in town who does private work (he was once at the theatre). I think he and I are the only "visiting" puppeteers who go to village schools etc (and he says it is hard to get a lot of work).
Even in the toy shops, there are not a lot of toy puppets, at least not to the extent one might see in German shops. Most of those that can be found are the international brands of animal puppets and some German Kasperl-style figures.
As to having their own heroes and characters, I am unaware of them. Indeed, I seem to know more than many of the Poles I meet. I did once do some research into szopka puppetry and even did a village carolling performance in the style (or, at least, in homage to it) but I have never seen a real one. I have seen film of a show which a musician/performer did in East Poland but even that was not exactly in the original style. I once met and talked with an old szopka player but he was in his '90's at the time and wasn't performing anymore. He did have a flash where he began reciting a section of his play. I must get the video transferred sometime as it is really quite moving.
Many Poles I speak to know little if anything about traditional puppets. In fact, they are often surprised when I tell them about neighbouring countries having traditions because they are unaware of any national puppet figures. Even last week when I was talking about Punch, Kasperl, etc a teacher commented "We have nothing like that".
Obviously, in a more cosmopolitan place like Krakow, there might be more awareness but it is nothing like Prague, where you can buy puppets and carved heads from local market. Having spoken to local people, teachers, academics, culture activists, performers etc, it is hard to find much information on it in the local environment. occasionally an older person might nod when I mention Kasperl (or even more rarely, Pietruszka). Some of it is possibly because of the population shifts after WW2 and the old culture s moving away of dying out. This was something we often encountered with the carolling masks and puppets I was involved with a few years ago.