Water puppet theater in Hanoi
A tradition of various theatrical and costumed performances originated in Vietnam quite a long time ago. At first, this tradition started from the imperial courts, where courtiers entertained the imperial retinue with various productions, later the theater became a real part of the life of the local population, many people were looking forward to new productions, and also praised local artists. In addition to the theaters we are familiar with, a unique genre has emerged here – the puppet theater on the water, which is more popular among tourists than among locals, but this theater is not only part of the culture of Vietnam, but it is also part of the entire world cultural heritage.
Features of the Vietnamese puppet theater on the water
The most famous puppet theaters on the water are located in Hanoi on Lake Tai - these are the Lotus and Thang Long theaters. It should be noted that this theater is more than 1000 years old. This theater is one of the most unique ways to depict the life of local Asian peoples in the form of puppet shows. There is a whole story written on one of the monuments in the village of Dai, which tells us the process of creating this theater, in short, this theater appeared, according to legend, thanks to a golden turtle and fairies dancing the wind dance. Indeed, in many modern productions of this theater, you can see fairies and a golden turtle. The modern history of the theater is associated with various stages of development and decline of this type of theatrical genre, one of the most colorful pages of this theater is the famous "tour" of Europe in the 80s, when a troupe of local artists visited Germany, England, Italy, France and Holland. People loved the unique dolls on the water so much that they literally fell in love with this genre.
The main character of the theater on the water is a boy named Teu, who is more than 1,000 years old, however, despite his age, he possesses qualities such as courage, kindness and courage. Almost all the plots of this theater are based on monologues and stories about rural life, the life of a simple worker and how kindness always overcomes evil. The water surface itself can be natural or artificial, and the dolls are controlled by people who stand waist-deep in the water behind a wooden screen.
If you like puppet shows or just theaters, be sure to visit this theater. Here you will see a unique oriental genre that will immerse you in the unique solitude of the audience with the production itself, which will make watching this genre unique and unsurpassed. Thanks to the work of the theater staff, a friendly and sometimes mysterious atmosphere is created that will not leave anyone indifferent.
