Most shows also feature the famous Legend of the Returned Sword of King Le, featuring Hoan Kiem Lake and the giant tortoise. Today’s performances usually include a number of short sketches rather than one long story, taking the audience on a journey through ancient village life, agricultural harvests and dances of mythical creatures. Near Hoan Kiem Lake, Thang Long Water Puppet Theater is a familiar address for those wanting to enjoy water puppet shows and discover the beauty of this unique Vietnamese traditional art. Is a recurrent and the most notable character in water puppetry. The shows recount Vietnamese folk tales and legends with topics including the celebration of the rice harvest depicted in a humorous fashion, agricultural production, animal husbandry, entertainment activities like wrestling and even the heroic examples of national heroes such as Ba Trung, Ba Trieu and Tran Hung Dao.Ĭhú Tễu (“chú” means uncle, man, boy or Mr. There are also Vietnamese operatic songs telling the story that is being acted out by the puppets. A Vietnamese orchestra plays traditional music using drums, wooden bells, horns, bamboo flutes and cymbals. The puppets perform classic Vietnamese folk tales and stories, and the performances are accompanied by traditional music. The puppeteers manipulate the puppets with wires and poles with simple or complex tables, pile systems, word rods and bamboo poles. Water puppets are made of lightweight wood such as figs and vines (which are readily available around the ponds) and painted with resinous paint. These puppeteers train for at least three years before they get up on or into the – as it were – stage to entertain their viewers. The theater has also brought water puppetry to more than 40 foreign countries through performance tours, or international cultural exchange programs and puppetry festivals.Ī show typically features 7-11 skilled puppeteers working in harmony with one another to create magic on stage. About 500 shows are performed in front of approximately 150,000 people every year. The first modern water puppet shows were performed by Thang Long Theater artists in 1990. The typical themes of a water puppet show are still deeply rooted in rural Vietnamese traditions that include fishing, planting and harvesting of rice as well as village folklore. The heart of the show hasn’t changed to this day, only the setting and the locations. It is also said that the shows were not originally intended solely to entertain rice farmers but also as a way to keep mystical spirits amused so that they would not cause mischief. At first, the water puppet shows were only held outdoors with the stage placed in a vast space under the sky. The original water puppet shows were performed in rice paddies around the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam. Water puppetry dates back about 1,000 years ago to the Ly Dynasty. Address: Thang Long Water Puppet Theater, 57B Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Hanoi.
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