Romanian puppet theatre established by Horia Davidescu in 1955 in Craiova. In 1998, the theatre was renamed Teatrul pentru copii și tineret Colibri (Colibri Theatre for Children and Youth).

The history of the puppet theatre of Craiova is partly linked to Eustațiu Gregorian, puppet and set designer who marked the aesthetics of the theatre through his personal interpretation of folk art, his humour, and imagination.

Among the many productions he designed, the following deserve special mention: Domnul Goe (Mr Goe, 1958), based on a short story by Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912), directed by H. Davidescu, which won the second prize at the International Puppetry Festival in Bucharest in 1958; Cartea cu Apolodor (The Book of Apollodorus, 1960), which won both the first prize and the Gold Medal at the International Festival in Bucharest in 1960.

Many directors worked with the Colibri Theatre, among them: Liviu Steciuc, Aventurile micii vrajitoare (The Adventures of the Little Witch, 1983) by Ottofried Preussler; Cristian Pepino, Ghena Crocodilul (Ghena, the Crocodile, 1985) with puppets made by Georgeta Nicolau, and Cenușăresasa (Cinderella, 1987); Mona Chirilă, Dragostea celor trei portocale (The Love for Three Oranges, 1992) by Sergei Prokofiev.

The Colibri Theatre has performed many shows abroad and has participated in prestigious international puppet festivals.

In 2013, Adriana Teodorescu, former Literary Director, was appointed the theatre’s Artistic Director.

(See Romania.)