Friday, 10 - Sunday 12 April 2026.

The Katkatha Puppet Fringe Festival emerged from the Puppet Incubation Lab, an initiative created by Katkatha in 2023 to celebrate 25 years of bringing puppetry to the forefront in India. Designed as a platform for experimentation, collaboration, and new work, the Lab brought together emerging puppeteers and artists from across the country to develop fresh and innovative performances.

The lab, through an open call and interviews shortlisted 12 to participate in an intensive two-week incubation programme in January, 2026. The lab included improvisations, masterclasses in dramaturgy, writing, puppet building, and performance making, along with mentorship from experienced practitioners. From this process, four original puppet performances have developed and supported with seed grants to become full productions.

These new works will premier at the second Katkatha Puppet Fringe Festival, a vibrant three-day celebration of contemporary puppetry. This Foundation Project is implemented by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) under the Arts Practice programme. Supported by and presented at the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi.

Festival Schedule
Friday, 10th April,10:00 to 12:30:
Shows for children and schools
Saturday, 11th April, 19:00 to 20:30:
Shows for young adults and adults
Sunday, 12th April, 15:00 to 20:00:
All shows repeated along with a Mela with food and puppet stalls.

(School shows - by registration via email to: katkathapuppet@gmail.com. 
Saturday and Sunday shows are ticketed via online bookings.)

The Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust is a Delhi based puppet theatre group and is a dedicated space committed to the promotion, preservation, and development of puppet theatre and allied arts in India. With a strong belief in the transformative power of storytelling through puppetry, Katkatha works towards creating innovative and original productions that combine puppets, masks, objects, props, choreography, puppet animation, actors, and music.

The organisation also nurtures meaningful collaborations and co-productions with artists from diverse disciplines across India and around the world, expanding the language and possibilities of contemporary puppetry. A key focus of Katkatha’s work lies in training and mentorship. Through masterclasses, residencies, and mentorship programmes, it aims to support and inspire the next generation of puppeteers while helping emerging groups and companies to grow within the field.

Katkatha actively tours its productions to both national and international puppet, performing arts, and theatre festivals, sharing Indian puppetry with wider audiences. Alongside performances, it engages in applied puppetry projects with communities, schools, and even conflict zones, using puppetry as a tool for dialogue, learning, and expression.

By building new audiences through festivals, educational spaces, and public performances, Katkatha strives to raise the standards of puppetry practice in India and bring the richness of Indian puppet traditions to the world.