about

Roman Boklanov is a director of puppet theatre and theatre of objects, working between Almaty, Saint Petersburg, and Europe.

He makes shows for children, teenagers, and families — physical, hand-made, quiet-then-loud. His work has been seen in Russia, Kazakhstan, Germany, Spain, Austria, and Belarus.

His artistic language was shaped by the Saint Petersburg school of puppet theatre: precise form, deliberate gesture, the material object as primary carrier of meaning. Each production attempts a conversation with children about the things that are hardest to talk about.

30+ staged productions. 20+ awards at Russian and international festivals.

STAGED IN

ST.PETERSBURG · MOSCOW · ALMATY · BREMEN · VIENNA · BERLIN · TASHKENT · ALICANTE · LONDON · EDINBURGH · LISBON · PORTO · LUXEMBOURG

chronology

1993Born in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan

2017Performer in Golden Mask laureate production (Stary Dom, Novosibirsk)

2018Grand Prix at the Istropolitana Project international theatre-school festival, Bratislava

2020Premiere of Bury Me Behind the Baseboard at BTK (Saint Petersburg)

2021Graduated RGISI — puppet theatre director, Kudashov studio (course at BTK)

2022Returned to Almaty; staging across Kazakhstan and Europe

lineage

Ruslan Kudashov

Studio masterRGISI, Saint Petersburg

Trained a generation of Saint Petersburg puppet theatre directors

Grand Puppet Theatre

DirectorSaint Petersburg

One of Russia's leading puppet theatres — where the professional voice was formed

RGISI

Directing facultyRussian State Institute of Performing Arts

Foundation: European puppet-theatre tradition, theatre of objects, contemporary directing