Water puppetry in Vietnam

Water puppetry in urgent need of a new generation of artists

Water puppet shows remain popular for children and tourists but the art form is in dire need of a new generation of puppeteers, directors and playwrights
After a quick breakfast, Ly Hoang Anh drives off to the Central Puppetry Theatre in Hanoi where preparations are underway for a new water puppet show. “We have been working for more than one month without rest to get the show ready for Children’s Day,” says the 25-year-old puppeteer.

Dinh Trong Dung, the play’s director, says of the 15 puppeteers involved in the forthcoming show, “Most of them were only recently taken on and are quite young, but they are full of enthusiasm.” The enthusiasm is much appreciated. Dung believes that this unique Vietnamese art form is in need of a new lease of life in terms of its workforce.

Vietnamese people are deeply fond of this 1,000-year old art form, which is also arguably the only performance art that has proved popular with foreign audiences. “While the lack of audiences is the toughest problem for most traditional arts such as Cheo, Tuong or Cai Luong, for puppetry it is a lack of manpower,” says Nguyen Thuy Nga, the deputy head of Central Puppetry Theatre’s Art Management Division.

Vietnam does not have a school specialising in puppetry art. Most of the theatre’s puppeteers were recruited from the Traditional Arts Faculty in Hanoi’s College of Theatre and Film Studies. It can take up to four years of further training for students to get up to the standard required for a professional performance.

While Vietnamese audiences have a sentimental attachment to water puppetry, discerning fans would also like to see something new. Nga believes that the genre also needs a new wave of directors and playwrights. She points at a huge pile of scripts on her table and shakes her head. Only one or two are usable. “It is extremely difficult to write a script.” The pantomime style used to retell famous legends appeals to kids and foreign tourists looking for a slice of Vietnamese culture, but Vietnamese adults need something more.

“I often take my children to puppet shows if they get good marks at school. But I prefer music shows to puppet shows as I have seen all these puppet shows since I was a boy,” says Pham Hoang Long from Hanoi. There have been some signs of innovation in the genre. Some theatres have incorporated contemporary ideas for stage lighting and stage design as well as modernising the music.

The Hong Phong puppet troupe took a traditional story called The Toad Sues Heaven, and given it a modern twist. Using the cover of a dark and stormy night, a thief sneaks into a Buddhist pagoda and steals antique statues, aiming to sell them to overseas buyers. As morning breaks, the villagers and the local animals discover their loss and argue about how to recover the statue.

A meeting of toads, crabs, and tortoises resolves to ask the gods, and Tao Quan, the kitchen god, is asked to seek help from the Jade King of Heaven. Eventually the villagers who finally catch the thief and he is dragged off to court where after a quick trial, it is Article 272 of the Criminal Code which sends him to jail for three years. “Foreign audiences have never seen such a strange art form.

The puppets and their dialogue really appeals to tourists,” says Hoang Tuan, the Thang Long Puppetry Theatre’s deputy director. Roberta Martin, a US tourist, agrees. “I like the way the puppets move on the water. They somehow swim, walk and even dance, which is funny and imaginative.” Over the past 10 years, Thang Long Puppetry Theatre, which is located conveniently right beside Hoan Kiem lake, has had a constant flow of tourists.

Since the Hanoi-based Central Puppetry Theatre joined hands with tourism firms, its puppeteers have had little time off. The theatre currently puts on three to seven shows a day. The work is quite demanding. Puppets can weigh up to seven kilogrammes and may require up to three people to control them.

The puppeteers are also the voices behind the puppets so each person has to multi-task through the show. At least there are rubber waders around these days. In less privileged times puppeteers famously used to drink nuoc mam (fish sauce) and rub ginger on their bodies to stay warm during the show.

The Water Puppet Director Dinh Trong Dung points out that in one sense it is easier to become a puppeteer than ever before. Previously people only pursued it as a career if their parents were puppeteers. “Now, you are only required to have good health and a lot of enthusiasm! You can apply for courses at the College of Theatre and Film Studies or here at the Central Puppetry Theatre,” he says.

Vuong Duy Bien, another director of the Central Puppetry Theatre, says that the State needs to pay more attention to the art form. “Vietnam held its first international puppetry festival in February and we learned a lot. It is necessary to have the State’s assistance to ensure a bright future for puppetry,” Bien says. “Vietnamese puppetry is integrating into the world. More efforts are needed to attract audiences and create more plays.”

(Source: Timeout)

Tag: Culture , Festival , Hanoi , International , Pagoda , Tour , Tourism , Tourist , Thang Long , Train , Vietnam , Vietnamese , Vietnamese Culture

Water puppetry in urgent need of a new generation of artists

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