Tobias Weishaupt (DE)

Rodolfo, whose grandfather invented the rainbow, has a dream: He wants to invent an animal as light as a bird, as lively as an insect, and as beautiful as a flower. Will he succeed? With great inventiveness, Faust award winner Tobias Weishaupt revives the famous creation story by the Nicaraguan author Gioconda Belli.

The fabulous children’s book teaches us not to set limits on our imagination and to pay attention to the small things in the world. Because of her political involvement in the liberation movement against the Nicaraguan dictator Somoza, Gioconda Belli had to leave her homeland in 1975 until his overthrow in 1979. Her children’s book, with its very own creation story, praises the diversity of nature and appeals for the protection of our colourful, living planet.

Tobias Weishaupt, a trained puppeteer, is currently working at the Altenburg-Gera Theater. He received the 2024 “Der Faust” theatre award for his performance in the production “Mein ziemlich seltsamer Freund Walter”, which will be presented in Nuremberg on 26 May. This is the first time the award was given to a puppeteer. He has worked with Eric Bass at the Theater Waidspeicher Erfurt, the Theater der Jungen Welt Leipzig and the Theater Naumburg. In 2014, he appeared in the puppet film “Cabaret Crusades” by the Arab video artist Wael Shawky.