Vertep

thumb|Drawing of a Ukrainian vertep box from Sokyryntsi, 18th century thumb|Mezhyhirya vertep, 1923 In Ukrainian culture, vertep (, from ) is a portable puppet theatre and drama, which presents the nativity scene, other mystery plays, as well as secular plots with satirical and comical elements. The original meaning of the word is "secret place", "cave", "den", referring to the cave where Christ was born, i.e., the Bethlehem Cave. Vertep first appeared in the second half of the 16th century under the influence of Western European traditions, which spread to Ukrainian lands, then part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It developed from the traditions of school drama and is related to the Polish szopka, Belarusian batlejka and Western European marionette theatre. Vertep reached the peak of its popularity in the Ukrainian Cossack Hetmanate, which would eventually become a protectorate of the Russian Empire.

== History == The Ukrainian vertep, or puppet theatre, developed in the latter half of the 16th century – beginning of the 17th century and was an adoption of popular Western European mystery plays. The first documented mention of vertep comes from 1573, and the genre reached its peak of prominence during the second half of the 18th century. It is believed to have been introduced by students of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. The vertep puppet theatre was made familiar to Ukrainian rural communities by wandering deacons and students of the above-mentioned Academy, whose role could be compared to medieval goliards. The theatre had numerous regional variants, the most notable being created in Sokyryntsi, Baturyn and Mezhyhirya.