Tangled Princess, a new production by Thang Long Puppet Theatre, will be performed at the 5th International Puppet Festival. (Photo: thanglongwaterpuppet.org)Hanoi (VNA) - The 5th InternationalPuppet Festival officially opened in Hanoi on October 8 night with theparticipation of puppeteers from eight countries, including the host Vietnam.
About 100 puppeteers from Cambodia, Laos, thePhilippines, Thailand, Belgium, France and Brazil traveled to Vietnam for thefestival. The four Vietnamese troupes participating include the VietnamPuppetry Theatre, Thang Long Puppetry Theatre, Hai Phong Puppetry Theatre and HoChi Minh Puppetry Theatre.
Tran Huong Duong, Deputy Director of the PerformingArts Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said thefestival is a chance for Vietnamese puppeteers to introduce the country’sunique and artistic puppetry to the international community.
"It also offers Vietnamese puppeteers andart managers a chance to share their performance and management experience. Theinternational puppetry troupes will bring new shows to the festival, and localgroups will also have a chance to present new plays,” he said.
There will be various types of shows showcasingthe 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 debutits new production entitled Cong Chua Toc May (Tangled Princess), which combines threetypes of manipulation: water puppetry; rod puppetry and string puppetry. The45-minute show is co-directed by Nguyen Phuong Nhi and Bach Quoc Khanh andconveys 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 DinhTien Hoang Street.
From Une Tribu Collectif of Belgium, MichelVillee and Noemie Vincart will perform Gaspard, which will feature a man and a woman creating the illusionof life on stage. The two puppeteers explore a number of different styles andforms.
Founded in 2014, Une Tribu is a collectivecomprised of eight artists with different backgrounds. Gaspard will be performed at 8pm on October 11 at AuCo 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 VinhPhuc. Their performances will entertain local people, enhance understanding ofVietnamese culture among foreign performers and tighten internationalrelationships through arts.
A workshop entitled Relationship BetweenBody and Puppet will be held on October13 in Hanoi. The festival will wrap up on October 15.-VNA
VNA
