The Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre in downtown Hanoi now holds theAsian record for being the only theatre in Asia offering nonstop liveperformances for 365 days. It is also responsible for introducing thetraditional art form to more than 50 countries. The Voice of VietnamRadio reports.
Vietnam’s Thang Long PuppetryTheater has won recognition by the India-based Asian Book of Records for“being the only theatre in Asia that performs water puppetry all 365days of the year”. The recognition rewards the theatre’s effort topreserve Vietnam’s traditional art and promote it worldwide.
Water puppetry is a unique folk stage art which is associated withVietnam’s wet rice civilisation and its history. Previously, waterpuppetry was performed at the time of the lunar new year and othertraditional festivals. But performances now occur every day at the 57BDinh Tien Hoang street, right in the heart of Hanoi.
Over the past 20 years, the Thang Long Puppetry Theatre has beenenjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitors, including foreigners whowant to explore the Vietnamese culture. Despite a decline in thepopularity of traditional theatre, the puppetry theatre is lit up everynight and packed with spectators.
Meritoriousartist Chu Luong, Deputy Director of the theatre, said: “Our theatreworks all year around to entertain, introduce and promote the mostdistinctive feature of Vietnamese culture: water puppetry. This is ahighlight of Hanoi’s cultural scene. This is the 20th consecutive yearthat we have been involved in this job and set the Asian record.”
The theater impresses visitors with an installation of colorfulpuppets at the entrance. The water puppetry performances have beenadapted from nearly 400 folk tales, depicting the history of Vietnam andpeople’s daily lives. There are favorite scenes like farmers ploughing,a buffalo boy playing the flute, and fishermen catching fish. Somestories require special techniques like a dragon waggling violently andbreathing fire, a fox climbing a tree and fishermen casting their netinto the river. Young puppeteers are encouraged to diversify theirperformances, contributing to the success of the theatre.
Young puppeteer Bach Quoc Khanh said: “I think the Thang Long PuppetryTheatre’s full operation all year round is a happiness and mentalencouragement for the artists amidst the difficulties facing Vietnam’straditional stage art. This is not only a source of pride for theartists of the Thang Long Puppetry Theatre but also other Vietnamesefolk artists.”
The shows are attractive toforeigners because they reflect the pure Vietnamese soul through music,costumes, customs, and farm work. As word spreads, the theatre’saudiences are growing and the number of shows is increasing. ArtistLuong said: “Each day there are six or seven performances – never lessthan four shows a day. Our audience is mostly tourists and children. Wehave also made performance tours in remote areas, where water puppetryis still less popular.”
Each year, the Thang LongPuppetry Theatre stages about 4,000 shows. Since 1992, the puppeteershave performed in nearly 50 countries and participated in world renownedfestivals, making Vietnamese puppetry better known to foreigners.-VNA
Vietnam’s Thang Long PuppetryTheater has won recognition by the India-based Asian Book of Records for“being the only theatre in Asia that performs water puppetry all 365days of the year”. The recognition rewards the theatre’s effort topreserve Vietnam’s traditional art and promote it worldwide.
Water puppetry is a unique folk stage art which is associated withVietnam’s wet rice civilisation and its history. Previously, waterpuppetry was performed at the time of the lunar new year and othertraditional festivals. But performances now occur every day at the 57BDinh Tien Hoang street, right in the heart of Hanoi.
Over the past 20 years, the Thang Long Puppetry Theatre has beenenjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitors, including foreigners whowant to explore the Vietnamese culture. Despite a decline in thepopularity of traditional theatre, the puppetry theatre is lit up everynight and packed with spectators.
Meritoriousartist Chu Luong, Deputy Director of the theatre, said: “Our theatreworks all year around to entertain, introduce and promote the mostdistinctive feature of Vietnamese culture: water puppetry. This is ahighlight of Hanoi’s cultural scene. This is the 20th consecutive yearthat we have been involved in this job and set the Asian record.”
The theater impresses visitors with an installation of colorfulpuppets at the entrance. The water puppetry performances have beenadapted from nearly 400 folk tales, depicting the history of Vietnam andpeople’s daily lives. There are favorite scenes like farmers ploughing,a buffalo boy playing the flute, and fishermen catching fish. Somestories require special techniques like a dragon waggling violently andbreathing fire, a fox climbing a tree and fishermen casting their netinto the river. Young puppeteers are encouraged to diversify theirperformances, contributing to the success of the theatre.
Young puppeteer Bach Quoc Khanh said: “I think the Thang Long PuppetryTheatre’s full operation all year round is a happiness and mentalencouragement for the artists amidst the difficulties facing Vietnam’straditional stage art. This is not only a source of pride for theartists of the Thang Long Puppetry Theatre but also other Vietnamesefolk artists.”
The shows are attractive toforeigners because they reflect the pure Vietnamese soul through music,costumes, customs, and farm work. As word spreads, the theatre’saudiences are growing and the number of shows is increasing. ArtistLuong said: “Each day there are six or seven performances – never lessthan four shows a day. Our audience is mostly tourists and children. Wehave also made performance tours in remote areas, where water puppetryis still less popular.”
Each year, the Thang LongPuppetry Theatre stages about 4,000 shows. Since 1992, the puppeteershave performed in nearly 50 countries and participated in world renownedfestivals, making Vietnamese puppetry better known to foreigners.-VNA
