This is a rare February 1955 programme (playbill) from the West End revival of the World-Famous PODRECCA'S PICCOLI THEATRE Italian Marionettes at the Saville Theatre in London. (The Original West End production opened December 21st, 1953 at London's Princes Theatre for a limited five week engagement.) ..... The Italian puppet theatre was founded in 1914 in Rome by Vittorio Podrecca, who was its principal director for nearly half a century. Vittorio Podrecca (Cividale del Friuli, Northern Italy, 1883 – Geneva, Switzerland, 1959), an eclectic and innovative personality, grew up in a family of musicians and playwrights, and the knowledge he acquired from his family resurfaced in his concepts about puppetry. The fundamental characteristic of his many productions was a sort of musicality expressed by the choreography of his figures, “moved by strings that recalled musical chords”. The repertoire of the Piccoli troupe was vast, and ranged from the works of Monteverdi, Mozart, Gluck and Purcell to those of contemporary musicians. The company’s debut performances took place in the Verdi room of the Palazzo Odescalchi in Rome, next to the famous Teatro degli Indipendenti of Anton Giulio Bragaglia and Luigi Pirandello. These performances included the Marcia per marionette (Funeral March of a Marionette) by Charles François Gounod, La serva padrona (The Servant Turned Mistress) by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, and La fata Morgana (Morgan le Fay) by Yorick, before distinguished audiences that included, among others, Eleonora Duse, Pietro Mascagni, Arrigo Boito, Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, Arturo Toscanini. The company benefitted from the contributions of the highly skilled puppeteer Gorno Dall’Acqua. For about ten years in its Roman locations it continued to stage productions that were always musically oriented, stimulating the creativity of a number of set designers and composers. Numerous highly successful tours abroad occupied the company (twenty-five people and more than 2,000 puppets) over a period of fifteen years beginning in 1921, spanning 20,000 performances in thirty-six countries. Stranded by the outbreak of World War II while in the United States, the Teatro dei Piccoli relocated to Latin America thanks to the support of Arturo Toscanini; they produced their shows there successfully but the international situation forced them to confront serious moments of crisis. When the company returned to Italy in 1951, it made a necessary revision of their programmes with the establishment of two separate companies. One company was devoted to popular shows with an emphasis on visual appeal. The other company focused on more refined productions, which culminated in the staging of the Retablo de Maese Pedro (Master Peter’s Puppet Show, 1956), with a musical score by Manuel de Falla, at the Piccola Scala in Milan, and the staging of "Genevieve de Brabant" (1958), a posthumous work by Erik Satie, performed at the 21st International Festival of Contemporary Music at the Venice Biennale. (Reprinted from the Union Internationale de la Marionette website) ..... DETAILS: The twelve page playbill measures 5" X 7 1/4" inches and includes full production credits, artiste list, synopsis of scenes, program notes and wonderful vintage advertising, but no cast photos ..... CONDITION: With the exception of a fold across the middle, this playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.