The art of traditional puppetry goes back eight generations in the Kopecky family, which over a period of two centuries, has been behind one of the most charming and popular forms of theatre in the Czech Republic.

Matej Kopecky and his wife Vladimira belong to the seventh generation. Their prestigious itinerant theatre continues to attract young crowds captivated by shows full of humour and which inevitably come to a close with a happy ending.

"In our country, it would be unthinkable not to have a happy ending, which is different from the north of Europe, where the tales are crueller," Matej told EFE. At the age of 65, he refuses to renounce his nomadic lifestyle.

His expertises are renowned in the Czech Republic and beyond and have landed him roles in films like "The Adventures of Pinocchio" (1996), directed by Steve Barron and starring Martin Landau as Mister Gepetto.

Matek and Mirka, as the husband and wife duo are familiarly known, are the faces of a saga that has its origins in the 18th century with Matej Kopecky (1775-1847), who in 1825 began to tour around Bohemia in a caravan of marionettes, performing shows on the road.

The puppet master not only found success in the countryside, where the form of theatre chimed with the locals, but it took hold in urban areas with the advent of the Romanticism movement.

The art form, therefore, influenced key figures such as Czech composer Bedrich Smetana, who many attribute with fomenting the idea of a Czech national identity, said Jan Dvorak, an art critic, fellow puppeteer and author of "Matej, Mata, Matusek and the sixth generation of the Kopecky family."

Nowadays, 200 years since their predecessors blaze the puppetry trail, Matej and Mirka restrict their shows to the winter period, putting on about 20 performances a month.

At the beginning of February, they brought "The Winter Tales of Mala Strana," a love story written by one of their sons, to the stage at the Podebrady theatre in eastern Prague.

The performance alternates between puppetry, comedy and musical, it regales the audience with the tale of three snowmen who, in trying to find their place in the city, make friends with a lost dog who needs to find its way home.

Performing in front of hundreds of people seems to give vital energy to Matej, who would like to spend five more years living his nomadic lifestyle, as his ancestors did.

"Every actor is an exhibitionist and of course they like success and applause," he said. "If everything ends well and chimes with the public, it is more satisfying than money," he added.

The Theater of Spejbl and Hurbinek in Prague, where Matej Kopecky Jnr&nbsp;works is the last art space entirely dedicated to puppet shows.

"Puppet theatre is the most traditional form that exists, based in ancient techniques of manipulating strings from above," said the member of the eighth generation of the puppeteer family.

"You are born with it and also we grew up in a theatre and we lived in the theatre's accommodation, so it is part of our lives," he added.

The art of traditional puppetry goes back eight generations in the Kopecky family, which over a period of two centuries, has been behind one of the most charming and popular forms of theatre in the Czech Republic.

The art of traditional puppetry goes back eight generations in the Kopecky family, which over a period of two centuries, has been behind one of the most charming and popular forms of theatre in the Czech Republic. Matej Kopecky and his wife Vladimira belong to the seventh generation. Their prestigious itinerant theatre continues to attract young crowds captivated by shows full of humour and which inevitably come to a close with a happy ending. "In our country, it would be unthinkable not to have a happy ending, which is different from the north of Europe, where the tales are crueller," Matej told EFE. At the age of 65, he refuses to renounce his nomadic lifestyle. His expertises are renowned in the Czech Republic and beyond and have landed him roles in films like "The Adventures of Pinocchio" (1996), directed by Steve Barron and starring Martin Landau as Mister Gepetto. Matek and Mirka, as the husband and wife duo are familiarly known, are the faces of a saga that has its origins in the 18th century with Matej Kopecky (1775-1847), who in 1825 began to tour around Bohemia in a caravan of marionettes, performing shows on the road. The puppet master not only found success in the countryside, where the form of theatre chimed with the locals, but it took hold in urban areas with the advent of the Romanticism movement. The art form, therefore, influenced key figures such as Czech composer Bedrich Smetana, who many attribute with fomenting the idea of a Czech national identity, said Jan Dvorak, an art critic, fellow puppeteer and author of "Matej, Mata, Matusek and the sixth generation of the Kopecky family." Nowadays, 200 years since their predecessors blaze the puppetry trail, Matej and Mirka restrict their shows to the winter period, putting on about 20 performances a month. At the beginning of February, they brought "The Winter Tales of Mala Strana," a love story written by one of their sons, to the stage at the Podebrady theatre in eastern Prague. The performance alternates between puppetry, comedy and musical, it regales the audience with the tale of three snowmen who, in trying to find their place in the city, make friends with a lost dog who needs to find its way home. Performing in front of hundreds of people seems to give vital energy to Matej, who would like to spend five more years living his nomadic lifestyle, as his ancestors did. "Every actor is an exhibitionist and of course they like success and applause," he said. "If everything ends well and chimes with the public, it is more satisfying than money," he added. The Theater of Spejbl and Hurbinek in Prague, where Matej Kopecky Jnr works is the last art space entirely dedicated to puppet shows. "Puppet theatre is the most traditional form that exists, based in ancient techniques of manipulating strings from above," said the member of the eighth generation of the puppeteer family. "You are born with it and also we grew up in a theatre and we lived in the theatre's accommodation, so it is part of our lives," he added.

The family breathing life into 200 years of puppetry in the Czech Republic

A unique theatre festival that unites the villages of Assam

Queues snaked for meters at London&#39;s Palace Theatre on Tuesday (June 7). The reason? The next installment in the &#39;Harry Potter&#39; saga.

&#39;Harry Potter and the Cursed Child&#39; opened for the first of several previews at the central London venue&nbsp;and fans lucky enough to secure tickets for the event waited anxiously to get into the theatre.

The story - which is split into two parts - follows title character Harry Potter (played by Jamie Parker) and his school friends Ron Weasley (Paul Thornley) and Hermione Granger (Noma Dumezweni) in adulthood.

Set 19 years after JK Rowling&#39;s last work &#39;The Deathly Hallows&#39;, the &#39;Cursed Child&#39; was adapted from a story written by Rowling and director John Tiffany - and brought to the stage by playwright Jack Thorne.

Fans were thrilled with the story which focuses on the title character and his youngest son Albus.

Harry is shown as an overworked Ministry of Magic employee coping with his son&#39;s struggles to deal with being the son of the famous wizard.

However, there has been very little other detail about the play revealed - as JK Rowling has requested that audiences don&#39;t spoil the story for others.

Harry Potter enthusiasts were thrilled by the play.

Super fan Callum Fawcett said, &quot;I really liked the films but after seeing this, I would say, &quot;Forget the films&quot;. I mean, this is fantastic. I would definitely come to watch this. It&#39;s got everything. It&#39;s got the real magic that the films miss out, if you know what I mean.&quot;

It seems as though the play will appeal most to super fans, rather than the casual Harry Potter enthusiast.

David Rolls said the plot is easy to get confused over if you don&#39;t know the stories inside out. &quot;I must admit I got a bit lost with some of the characters. You have to be a real super fan, I think, to get into the story,&quot; he said.

Perhaps the biggest fan in attendance was Samantha Kent, who arrived at the venue at 12pm - seven and a half hours before the show started. She showed off her numerous Harry Potter themed tattoos and explained why she got to the theatre so early.

&quot;Because I was photographed as the first person to queue up in Birmingham for the last book, and I kind of had to beat my record. Apart from that, I&#39;m a massive fan,&quot; said Kent.

There has been some controversy over the casting of the play - with criticism that some of the actors don&#39;t look the same as the cast who played the characters in the films.

In particular, the decision to cast Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger in the play has provoked debate as the actress is black, whereas Emma Watson who plays the same character in the films is white.

JK Rowling has hit out at critics, saying she never specified what ethnicity any of the characters were in the books.

Many of the audience said it didn&#39;t matter what the play actors looked like.

&quot;Personally, I feel it&#39;s how they [the characters] should have been all along. Hermione particulary, as a woman of colour, is just groundbreaking and it&#39;s amazing and she suits the role so, so well,&quot; said&nbsp;Jess Hart, a fan of the series.

Previews of &#39;The Cursed Child&#39; continue until July 30 when the play opens officially.

'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' opened for the first of several previews at the central London venue. Previews of 'The Cursed Child' continue until July 30 when the play opens officially

Queues snaked for meters at London's Palace Theatre on Tuesday (June 7). The reason? The next installment in the 'Harry Potter' saga. 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' opened for the first of several previews at the central London venue and fans lucky enough to secure tickets for the event waited anxiously to get into the theatre. The story - which is split into two parts - follows title character Harry Potter (played by Jamie Parker) and his school friends Ron Weasley (Paul Thornley) and Hermione Granger (Noma Dumezweni) in adulthood. Set 19 years after JK Rowling's last work 'The Deathly Hallows', the 'Cursed Child' was adapted from a story written by Rowling and director John Tiffany - and brought to the stage by playwright Jack Thorne. Fans were thrilled with the story which focuses on the title character and his youngest son Albus. Harry is shown as an overworked Ministry of Magic employee coping with his son's struggles to deal with being the son of the famous wizard. However, there has been very little other detail about the play revealed - as JK Rowling has requested that audiences don't spoil the story for others. Harry Potter enthusiasts were thrilled by the play. Super fan Callum Fawcett said, "I really liked the films but after seeing this, I would say, "Forget the films". I mean, this is fantastic. I would definitely come to watch this. It's got everything. It's got the real magic that the films miss out, if you know what I mean." It seems as though the play will appeal most to super fans, rather than the casual Harry Potter enthusiast. David Rolls said the plot is easy to get confused over if you don't know the stories inside out. "I must admit I got a bit lost with some of the characters. You have to be a real super fan, I think, to get into the story," he said. Perhaps the biggest fan in attendance was Samantha Kent, who arrived at the venue at 12pm - seven and a half hours before the show started. She showed off her numerous Harry Potter themed tattoos and explained why she got to the theatre so early. "Because I was photographed as the first person to queue up in Birmingham for the last book, and I kind of had to beat my record. Apart from that, I'm a massive fan," said Kent. There has been some controversy over the casting of the play - with criticism that some of the actors don't look the same as the cast who played the characters in the films. In particular, the decision to cast Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger in the play has provoked debate as the actress is black, whereas Emma Watson who plays the same character in the films is white. JK Rowling has hit out at critics, saying she never specified what ethnicity any of the characters were in the books. Many of the audience said it didn't matter what the play actors looked like. "Personally, I feel it's how they [the characters] should have been all along. Hermione particulary, as a woman of colour, is just groundbreaking and it's amazing and she suits the role so, so well," said Jess Hart, a fan of the series. Previews of 'The Cursed Child' continue until July 30 when the play opens officially.

JK Rowling's newest work brings magic back to life

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