International Puppet Festival kicks off in Hanoi

About 100 puppeteers from Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, Belgium, France and Brazil traveled to Vietnam for the festival. The four Vietnamese troupes participating include the Vietnam Puppetry Theatre, Thang Long Puppetry Theatre, Hai Phong Puppetry Theatre and Ho Chi Minh Puppetry Theatre.

Tran Huong Duong, Deputy Director of the Performing Arts Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the festival is a chance for Vietnamese puppeteers to introduce the country’s unique and artistic puppetry to the international community.

"It also offers Vietnamese puppeteers and art managers a chance to share their performance and management experience. The international puppetry troupes will bring new shows to the festival, and local groups will also have a chance to present new plays,” he said.

There will be various types of shows showcasing the cultural features of the participating countries including water puppetry, shadow puppetry, rod puppetry, glove puppetry and mask puppetry.

The Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre will debut its new production entitled Cong Chua Toc May (Tangled Princess), which combines three types of manipulation: water puppetry; rod puppetry and string puppetry. The 45-minute show is co-directed by Nguyen Phuong Nhi and Bach Quoc Khanh and conveys a message about environment protection.

"The story of the show is about pollution, forest fires and climate change,” said Nhi. “But characters like the princess, prince and wizard will entertain young audiences.”

Cong Chua Toc May will be performed at 9:00am on October 9 at 57B Dinh Tien Hoang Street.

From Une Tribu Collectif of Belgium, Michel Villee and Noemie Vincart will perform Gaspard, which will feature a man and a woman creating the illusion of life on stage. The two puppeteers explore a number of different styles and forms.

Founded in 2014, Une Tribu is a collective comprised of eight artists with different backgrounds. Gaspard will be performed at 8pm on October 11 at Au Co Theatre, 8 Huynh Thuc Khang Street.

In addition to the main performances in Hanoi, puppetry troupes will also perform in the northern provinces of Ninh Binh and Vinh Phuc. Their performances will entertain local people, enhance understanding of Vietnamese culture among foreign performers and tighten international relationships through arts.

A workshop entitled Relationship Between Body and Puppet will be held on October 13 in Hanoi. The festival will wrap up on October 15.