Behind the water puppet blind

On the occasion of Hung King Temple Festival, under the curved roof of communal house at Khuon Muoi lake, Hung King Temple Historical relic Site, each puppet was blown the soul, hiding and appearing on the surface of the water, re-enacting interesting, fascinating stories. Behind these vibrant, magical water-puppet shows are the brilliant hands of actors from the Phu Tho art troop.

When the smooth, exhilarating lyrics come out, it's also when the puppets in the play of the "Hung King chooses daughter's husband" begin to appear on the blue waters. The puppets are made of light wood floating on the surface of the water, carved by the craftsmen, painted with their own stylistic lines, then sculpted, polished and decorated with different colors of paint to enhance the personality of each character. The Hung King, Mi Nuong, Son Tinh, Thuy Tinh, etc. or animals such as frogs, dogs, chickens, elephants... become a vivid painting on the surface of the water with songs, voices, noises. In the glowing light and the magic of smoke, the play has been reappeared with vibrant, beautiful scenery attracting a large audience to enjoy.

Water puppet is one of the unique types of traditional folk theatre of the Vietnamese people, born from the culture of water rice. This kind of art is formed from the minds and feelings of the working people, reflecting the lives and dreams of the workers, expressing the wisdom, intelligence and creativity of the Vietnamese people. In order to get the performances for this year’s Hung King Temple, more than 25 actors from the Provincial Art troop have been trained and prepared to do everything which have to be careful with the details.

The water puppets are vividly and uniquely engraved.

Sharing about the art of water puppet, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dung, the actor of the Provincial Art troop said: “Water puppet is a traditional art that requires a high degree of ingenuity and concentration, our job is to stand behind the blind to control puppet. When controlling, the actor must be both skilled and able to convey emotions to the puppet, sometimes also controlling and singing in the tone of the music to match the puppe, having a soul like a real person".

Recalling the first days when she was behind the scenes on the water-puppet stage, Ms. Ha Thu Nga, the actress of the Provincial Art troop, was still full of emotional disappointment and anxiety when she first performed. Through the hard, persevering training process, now Nga and the puppet has been one in accordance with the circumstances of the play. There were times of exhaustion after exercise, more of immersion in water, even with protective clothes, but inevitably throat, cold, back pain or joint pain... But the smiles and handshakes of the audience are an immense happiness for actors like Nga, adding to them the motivation to stick to the profession, perform more rich, distinctive plays.

The water puppet performance attracted a lot of visitors to enjoy

“This year is the fifth year that the Provincial Art troop conducted a water puppet program on the occasion of the Hung King Temple Festival, the water puppet performances have demonstrated the great virtue of its ancestors, at the same time, providing an opportunity to promote, introduce images of the land and people of Phu Tho to visitors at home and abroad, contributing to the preservation and promotion of the distinct cultural values of the nation"- said Mr. Nguyen Duy Phuong - Head of the Provincial Art troop.

The peculiarity of water puppet is that the audience doesn’t know the actor’s face, but only sees wooden puppets operating on the water. The actors always hide behind the stages, using their clever, flexible hands to tell stories through puppet. For them, preserving the art of water puppet is not only preservation of a discipline of folk art, but also an expression of appreciation for the good cultural character and identity of a period of great historical significance for the Vietnamese.

Thanh An