The theatre has been directed by renown Polish puppeteer artists: Piotr Sawicki, Joanna Piekarska, Krzysztof Rau, Wojciech Kobrzyński and Wojciech Szelachowski. Since September 2005 BTL’s director is Marek Waszkiel, a puppet theatre historian and theatre critic.
During its history BTL cooperated with many outstanding artists. The productions carried out by them in Białystok left a distinct mark on the entire Polish art of puppetry. Jan Wilkowski and Adam Kilian produced their famous Dekameron 8.5 / Decameron 8.5 and Zielona gęś / The Green Goose at the BTL. Piotr Tomaszuk, a renown artist of the stage was connected with the BTL since his début in the 1980s. He produced several unforgettable shows: Polowanie na lisa / Fox hunting by Sławomir Mrożek and Turlajgroszek / Roll the Pea, and most recently Lis / The Fox by a young Polish puppet playwright Marta Guśniowska. Tadeusz Słobodzianek, a renown contemporary Polish playwright is also among acclaimed Polish artists who used to be affiliated with BTL.
Białostocki Teatr Lalek is one of the oldest Polish puppet stages to propose a repertoire for adults. Since the 1970s, works by world’s best literary authors regularly appear on its playbill: Boccaccio, Calderon, Rostand, Gogol, Bernhard, Różewicz, Szukszyn, Mrożek and Gałczyński. BTL was the first puppet theatre in Poland to have specially designed premises. In 1979, the city founded a building which houses three stages with total of 340 seats. Over the past 30 years, the theatre organized numerous national and international puppetry festivals, such as a festival of solo puppeteers and national meetings of puppet theatres.
In 1974 Białostocki Teatr Lalek started up an actor’s studio, and within a year it was transformed into the Puppetry Art Department of the Warsaw Theatre Academy. At present, nearly all the actors of the company are graduates of this school.