International Cottbus Puppet Theatre Festival “Hände Hoch!”

Three Days of Puppet Theatre in Cottbus

For decades, the Piccolo Theater Cottbus on Erich-Kästner-Platz has been one of the most distinguished venues for young and alternative theatre forms in the Lausitz region. Once a year, it transforms into the host venue for an international puppet and figure theatre festival: “Hände Hoch!” brings companies from various regions of Germany and the world to Cottbus from October 16th to 18th, 2026.

Remarkable Productions for All Age Groups

The festival is explicitly designed to be intergenerational: mornings and afternoons feature productions for children aged 4, 6, 8, and 10, while evenings offer performances for adults — tragedies, satires, socio-political themes — in various forms of performance:

• Classic hand puppetry and marionette theatre
• Tabletop puppet and shadow play
• Object theatre and contemporary mixed forms
• Avant-garde performances

International Encounters in the Lausitz

“Hände Hoch!” follows in the tradition of major German puppet theatre festivals and, with its location in the Lausitz, establishes an anchor point in eastern Germany. Guests regularly come from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and other European countries, occasionally from overseas.

City of the Sorbs and Diversity

Cottbus/Chóśebuz, Brandenburg's second-largest city and the metropolis of the Sorbian-Lower Sorbian region, offers an attractive cultural environment around the festival: the State Theatre, the Sorbian Museum, Branitz Park (Pückler Castle), and the Wendisches Haus are all within walking distance.