Mar ~ Marionetas | Espinho International Puppet Festival
Mar~Marionetas - Festival Internacional de Marionetas de Espinho 2026
World Stars Show [ SHOW ]
- Cemal Fatih Polat Karagöz Theater < TURKEY
- M/5 . 35mins . free access
| 22 MAY 21h30 . FRI | FACE / Museu Municipal de Espinho |
World Stars Show
Are you ready to meet world stars on the shadow theatre stage? Elvis Presley, Luciano Pavarotti, Charlie Chaplin, Carlos Santana, Louis Armstrong, and many more, with unique performances from the traditional Turkish theatre, Karagöz.
Karagöz is the art of traditional Turkish puppetry. It is now considered a heritage in the art of shadow theatre, and through these shows we can get a broad glimpse of the tradition that is being celebrated, but also with a modern and updated vision.
“World Stars Show” won the award for “Best Show for Research and Interaction between Tradition and Modernity” at the Banja Luka 22nd International Festival of Children's Theatres.
what the festival has to say
Karagoz Theater has been listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO since 2009. It is a traditional shadow theater featuring translucent, colorful figures that reflect not only the distinctive culture of a people but also, through this artist, moments and characters recognized around the world, using a technique that dates back more than 600 years.
Cemal Fatih Polat is, without a doubt, a master manipulator. It is fascinating to see how this artist masterfully develops his puppet manipulation technique, imbuing these objects—these sculptures—with a lifelike vitality that transports us to another culture, another experience, and a broader understanding of the traditional theatrical techniques found around the world!
And everything expands when, at the end of the show, we are invited backstage to discover the secrets and come into direct contact with these splendid objects.
Cemal Fatih Polat Karagöz Theater
Cemal Fatih Polat was born in K?r?kkale, Turkey, in the year of 1985. He graduated from Marmara University Department of Economics. However, he took professional theatrical education later on, and he is still acting. Beginning from 2006, he was also interested in Puppetry, especially Karagoz, a traditional shadow puppetry from Turkish culture.
Thus, he received the education in master-apprentice relationships. Not only in his homeland, but he also represented his cultural values about shadow puppetry in different countries such as Germany, Brazil, Rwanda, Bulgaria, Moldova, Russia, Tunisia, Qatar, N. Macedonia, Denmark, Portugal, Holland, Italy, and Romania at the events and festivals.