Puppets are made of wood and coated with waterproof paint. Each puppet is handmade, has its own posture and expresses a certain character. The most outstanding puppet is known as chu teu which has a round face and a humorous and optimistic smile. The show starts with chu teu, dressed in an odd costume, offering joyful laughter.
The pond and lakes of the northern plains, where crowds gathered during festival and galas, become the lively stages for the water puppet shows. At a water puppet show, the audience watches boat races, buffalo fights, fox hunts and other rustic scenes amidst the beating of drums and gongs. The characters plough, plant rice seedlings, fish in a pond with a rod and line, scoop water with a bamboo basket hung from a tripod, etc. The show is interspersed with such items as a Dance by the Four Mythical Animals: Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise, and Phoenix and Dance by the Eight Fairies, in which supernatural beings enjoy festivities alongside people of this world.
There are many contributing factors to the art of water puppetry, including such handicrafts as wood sculpture and lacquer work. The factors all work together to bring out charming glimpses of the Vietnamese psyche, as well as typical landscapes of Vietnam.
Show schedule
There are puppet show every day at 15:30 - 17:00 - 18:30 - 20:00 - 21:15 and Sunday at 9:30
Tickets
Ticket costs between 60.000 - 100.000 VND ($3-5) and can be purchased at doors or by contacting the theatre:
Tel: (84-04) 3 824 9494, 3 825 5450
Fax: (84-04) 3 824 5117
Email: thanglongwpt@fpt.vn
Website: www.thanglongwaterpuppet.org
Source: internet
