The Puppet Theatre was founded in 1974.In December of the same year, the puppet theatre premiered The Adventures of Motiko the Cat by J. Poprovsky. The theatre started its creative activity not only in Utena, but also outside of it. Participation in puppet theatre festivals and tours made the Utena theatre famous. It has become welcomed and loved by small audiences throughout Lithuania. In 1978 it was awarded the title of "Zuikis Puikis" folk theatre. In December 2014, the puppet theatre "Zuikis Puikis" celebrated its 40th anniversary since its foundation. Since 1986, the puppet theatre has been participating in all the traditional republican puppet theatre "Molinukas" festivals and competitions. Three times they have been awarded diplomas, five times they have been declared laureates for the performances by Lithuanian playwrights, and in 1999 they were recognised as the best amateur puppet theatre and awarded the Golden Bird statue. In 2012, the puppet theatre took part in the 19th Lithuanian Puppet Theatre Competition "Molinuko teatras -2012" and became a laureate. In this competition, the theatre presented R. Katinaitė-Lumpickienė's staging "The Queen of the Winds" based on the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale. The performance was awarded a diploma and a special prize. In 2014, the theatre took part in the 20th Republican Puppet Theatre Competition "Molinukas 2014" with the performance "Oak Gyrpelnys", staged by Regina Katinaitė-Lumpickienė. It became a diploma winner, was awarded a special prize and was selected for the programme of the Republican Song Celebration "Here's My Home" Theatre Day "Dyvų dyvai".
The Puppet Theatre organises republican puppet theatre festivals "Zuikis Puikis" theatre, regional and republican "Molinukas" theatre reviews-festivals, since 1986 - republican puppet theatre laboratories, and since 2004 - international puppet theatre laboratories and drama theatre laboratories-festival. The Puppet Theatre participates in the festivals, festivals, district, city, county events organised by the Utena Culture Centre, and is a participant of all the republican and international puppet and drama festivals and festivals organised in Lithuania. The Puppet Theatre participates in the international festivals of Jonava "Aidas", Panevėžys "Lagaminas", Alytus "Aitvaras", Kretinga "Kaukučius", Kaunas "Šypsos lėlės ir vaikai", Birštonas children and youth theatre festivals. With original performances they took part in Riga (Latvia), Tallinn and Viljandi (Estonia) international festivals. In May 2013, at the Viljandi (Estonia) International Puppet Theatre Festival, the puppet show "The Three Spindles", based on the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale, was recognised as the best performance and received a special audience prize.
The theatre has also organised 20th, 25th, 30th, 35th, 40th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the theatre, as well as exhibitions of puppets and scenography in the Art Gallery of the Art Centre of the Utena Culture Centre and in the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre in Vilnius.
The theatre features adult amateur actors - educators, civil servants, free artists. The theatre pays special attention to Lithuanian folk art, dramaturgy of Lithuanian authors, enrichment and promotion of the native language. The performances of the "Zuikis Puikis" theatre are multifaceted, each of them is a complete and interesting story that comes to the heart of a little person in an instructive way. The performances are different, original and much loved by children: J. Degutytė's "The Dream of Cinderella", M. Kudarauskaitė's "The Legend of Amber", E. Liegutė's "Cyplukas the Mouse", J. Radzevičius' "The Hermit Ant", E. Rinkevičius' "Star of Bethlehem", V. Kupšys' "Let's Save the Kangaroo", etc.
The Puppet Theatre has been cooperating for many years and has been staging plays based on the works of the countrymen Antanas Gudelis and Regina Katinaitė-Lumpickienė. These include "Sowed the Oats in the Moon" by A. Gudelis, "The Carpenter, the Thunder and the Devil" (awarded with the Golden Bird Award), "The Happiness and the Hippopotamus", "The Journey of the Two Cuckoos", and stagings of fairy tales from the world of R. Katinaitė-Lumpickienė: "The Pigmy", "The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep", "The Hairy Cat", "The Queen of the Winds", and "The Three Spinning Wings". These performances were admired by countless children and adults. In January 2014, young and old from Utena saw a new theatre premiere based on Kristijonas Donelaitis's fairy tale "The Oak Gyrpelnys", and in December of the same year, another premiere appeared under the light of the ramps - the mask play "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", written on the motives of R. Katinaitė-Lumpickienė's fairy tale world.
In addition to performances and Christmas stories for children, theatrical meetings with the audience, the actors of the "Zuikis Puikis" theatre, becoming various characters, lead events for children and adults, participate in theatrical mask processions in the city streets, willingly attend meetings, discussions, commemorative and anniversary celebrations organized by fellow puppeteers, lead educational events about puppet theatre in the city's kindergartens-schools, collaborate with the A. and Miškinių Public Library and its children's literature department. Puppet theatre "Zuikis Puikis" has friendships and cooperation with puppet theatres from Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Chuvashia, Czech Republic, Poland.
"Zuikis Puikis" is welcomed and loved by the audience of young and adult puppets in Utenna, and not only in Utena.
