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Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival | NASTY, BRUTISH & SHORT: A Puppet Cabaret (Weekend 2)

  • Links Hall 3111 North Western Avenue Chicago, IL, 60618 United States (map)

Artist Credit: Nate Puppets, Photo Credit: Alex Griffin.

Rough House Theater Co., the Puppet Slam Network, and the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival present:

Nasty, Brutish & Short

Don’t let the evening end! Come join the fun at this fan-favorite late show where eyebrows meet lowbrows. Enjoy Chicago’s long-standing puppet cabaret with your hirsute host Jameson and somewhat furry friends for a naughty night of raucous, dark, sassy, sad and highly unusual puppet theater. Out-of-towner puppeteers are invited to join local legends for friendly unwinding. All weekends are at Links Hall this year for the Nasty, Brutish & Short puppet cabaret.

This performance is for adult audiences.

TICKETS

$21 General Admission

$16 Seniors/Students

Free livestream linked here

ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES

Saturday, January 25th at 10:30pm

About Rough House Theater

Rough House Theater, founded in 2011, has quickly made a name for itself in Chicago’s theater scene with its fearless and visceral puppet performances. The company specializes in creating dark, thought-provoking works that blend traditional puppetry techniques with innovative storytelling. Rough House explores topics that range from the gruesome to the surreal, offering audiences a thrilling and often unsettling experience. Their work has been featured in venues across the country, and they are known for bringing a raw, avant-garde edge to puppetry. Audiences can expect visually stunning shows that explore complex themes, offering an alternative perspective on puppetry as an art form. With its reputation for bold, original productions, Rough House is a key partner in helping the festival redefine the possibilities of puppetry.

www.roughhousetheater.com

About the Chicago International Puppet Festival Theater Festival

The 2025 Chicago Puppet Fest will span 12 days and dozens of Chicago venues, presenting  an international pageant of puppet artists sharing more than 100 puppetry activities. Get set for all-ages spectacle shows in landmark theaters, intimate works on smaller stages, and the always popular, adults-only, late night puppet cabarets.

With hundreds of artists and civic leaders working around the globe and here in Chicago to make it happen, we aim to fan a fire in you that inspires your vigor and heats your soul. We offer a unique and broad range of work from around our planet. You’ll find the puppet particularly adept at embodying the supernatural with such tales as Dracula or The Cabinet. Likewise the puppet holds the gravity of powerful dramas such as Life & Times of Michael K and The House by the Lake. And equally capturing a comic world of I Killed The Monster. Revel with us in the return of Chicago’s jewel: The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival! Learn more at https://chicagopuppetfest.org/#.

ADDITIONAL PUPPET THEATER FESTIVAL PROGRAMMING AT LINKS HALL

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January 22

Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival | Tram Arts Trust: Maati Katha

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January 25

Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival | NASTY, BRUTISH & SHORT: A Puppet Cabaret (Weekend 2)