Ostrava can boast one of the Czech Republic’s major puppet theatre companies. The Puppet Theatre, founded in 1953, was based in premises on Masaryk Square until 1999, when it moved a short distance to an entirely new, oval-plan theatre on the edge of the Černá louka Exhibition Centre.
The new theatre is built in the spirit of pre-functionalist modernism, a charming and architecturally striking structure decorated with a row of five wooden sculptures by Pavel Skorkovský, depicting five key characters – the king, queen, jester, angel and devil. The Puppet Theatre regularly hosts the international puppetry festival Spectaculo Interesse and the Theatre Without Barriers festival, each held biennially in alternate years.