Vietnamese Water Puppet Show

04-05-2019

Water puppetry is a tradition that dates back as far as the 11th century when it originated in the villages of the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam. Today's Vietnamese water puppetry is a unique variation on the ancient Asian puppet tradition.

The puppets are made out of wood and then lacquered. The shows are performed in a waist-deep pool. A large bamboo rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers, who are normally hidden behind a screen, to control them. Thus the puppets appear to be moving over the water. When the rice fields would flood, the villagers would entertain each other using this form of puppet play.

Legend has it that the country saw a prolonged period of peace and prosperity right after 1010. The fact that there were no wars to be fought at the time meant that the people could sit back, relax and come up with as well as enjoy some of their cultural festivals and traditions. This meant that handicrafts flourished and ceremonies, festivals and general merry making become popular pass time activities. This provided the perfect opportunity for talented artists to perform water puppet shows on both land and water.

It is said that the original water puppet shows were performed in actual rice paddies around the Red River Delta in North Vietnam. It is also said that the shows were not originally meant just for the entertainment of the local rice farmers but also as a way to keep the spirits amused so that they would not cause mischief.

Back then, simple stages were built around flooded rice paddies and the expert puppeteers would go about their business regaling and entertaining their audience while in wadding waist deep waters. Leech bites and other related issues that come with standing in murky waters for long periods of time were common place.
The ‘heart of the show’ hasn’t changed much today; only the setting and the locations. The typical themes that surround 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.

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, on the northeastern bank of Hoan Kiem Lake, is certainly not 1,000 years old, nor reminiscent of the traditional environment in which water puppet shows would have taken place, but if you want to see this art form it’s easy accessible, reasonably priced and an authentic performance.

The theatre is more comfortable than we remember from the first visit we made a decade ago; we’re sure than in those days the seats were wooden benches, prone to sending your bum to sleep. Now the hall boasts rows of standard theatre-style, green-cushioned chairs, with a "pond" at the front instead of a stage.

Located at 57B, Dinh Tien Hoang street, nearby Hoan Kiem Lake, Thang Long Water Puppet Theater is a familiar address for both domestic tourists and foreign ones, who want to enjoy water puppet shows and discovery the beauty of this unique Vietnam traditional art.

In 1969, the theater was established and since 1990; many water puppet shows have been performed by Thang Long theater artists.Every year, about 500 shows are offered to approximately 150,000 audiences. Moreover, the theater has brought water puppetry art to more then 40 foreign countries like Japan, France, America, Australia, Spain… through performance tours, or international cultural exchange program or puppetry festivals.

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