Hungarian puppet theatre founded in 1962 in Kecskemét. The Ciróka Puppet Theatre consisted of an amateur troupe that became professional in 1987 and was at first the puppetry division of the József Katona Theatre in Kecskemét before becoming independent in 1990 under the artistic direction of Géza Kovács (1990-1997). Ágnes Kiszely (b.1964) took over in 1998.

The Ciróka is an artistic laboratory that experiments with diverse forms of puppetry in an open space, bringing into play poetry and metaphor, surprise and humour and innovative solutions. Its most characteristic shows are: Noé bárkája (Noah’s Ark, 1997) by Géza Kovács; Jancsi és Juliska (Hansel and Gretel, 1999) by Tibor Zalán (Zalán Tibor); Leporello első könyve (The First Book of Leporello, 2001) by László Rumi, after Michael Ende; A dzsungel könyve (The Jungle Book, 2003) by Ilona Szász, after Rudyard Kipling.

(See Hungary.)