Water Puppets Wow Malaysian Viewers

PETALING JAYA (Selangor, Malaysia), Sept 21 (Bernama) -- Dancing on water is not a common activity among humans, let alone puppets. But Saturday night, a group of puppets from Hanoi, Vietnam mesmerised a crowd of viewers at the KuAsh Theatre, here, when they presented their story by dancing and acting on the water surface. Themed 'Panorama of Puppetry: Water Puppet Theatre of Vietnam', the show put up by the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre of Vietnam was the first to be held in Malaysia. Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre vice director, Chu Van Luong said the show depicted the daily activities in Vietnam's rural life as well as important historical events and ancient legends. He said the original water puppet festivals were held in the padi field with a pagoda built to hide the puppeteers who stood in the water. "But in a modern water puppetry, it is performed in a pool of water of four metres square with the water surface being the stage," he said. Chu, who has been a puppet maker for almost 30 years, said that it took three to four months to complete a puppet as it was not an easy task. "Each water puppet is hand-carved and given five layers of lacquer paint to protect the puppets from the water and to add vital colours to the performance," he added. During the show, the puppets such as dragons, peacocks, fishes and boats acted out according to the story being narrated by the singers. The group comprised 18 people including seven musicians. Although the show was narrated fully in the Vietnamese language, the crowd still enjoyed it and the kids seemed really thrilled. "We are happy to see the crowd laughing and enjoying our performance. Looking forward to perform here in the future," Chu said. The show was organised by Pusaka, in conjunction of the DiverseCity 2015: Kuala Lumpur International Arts Festival. Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre has performed throughout the world, and participated in many international art festivals, including in the United States, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Spain, France and Italy. -- BERNAMA