Also located in Hanoi, you can witness the best puppet shows in here as well. If you don’t get a ticket for Thang Long, don’t worry! Lotus Water Puppet Theatre is the place to stop by. Camcorder surcharge: VND 60,000 per camcorder.Camera surcharge: VND 20,000 per camera,.Children under 1.2m: VND 60,000 per person,.Address: 57b Dinh Tien Hoang, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam.At a shop nearby, you can even buy your own puppets and become puppeteers yourselves! It is advisable to pre-book your tickets because it almost always gets filled. During winters, they run additional shows as well. It is also the only theatre to run shows for 365 days of the year. Thanh Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi, the capital city, is the most famous theatre for water puppetry.
Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, Hanoi: Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons
They are controlled via underwater rods that are not visible to the naked eye. The puppets are made of wood and varnished later to make it lightweight as well as durable. The show portrays 7 to 11 puppeteers, seated deep inside the waters while controlling the puppets in perfect sync behind a bamboo screen. Thuy Dinh in Vietnamese is called The modern-day water puppetry theatre. This tradition has still remained deep-rooted in rural Vietnam and has spread over in modern theatres in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City making it a popular form of entertainment. Ever since then, water puppetry has evolved in many ways but it is still very much the same in its essence. The puppet masters would keep their feet deep inside the muddy water and manipulate the puppets with their fingers along the strings on a stage built around the fields. Water puppetry served as an entertainment source for the rice farmers of Vietnam in the olden days. Read all available cruise tours here History and Evolution of Water Puppetry
There is also a show of fireworks making the night skies colourful and the entire scenery completely breathtaking and giving an amazing night at Vietnam. In addition to music, the use of light plays a significant role as well to highlight the dramatic parts making the performance even more interesting. The gestures of the puppets are very expressive and the music is executed perfectly in sync with the story and the singers even shout words of encouragement to which the puppets react sharply. Even though the language of delivery is Vietnamese, it is not hard to understand what is being conveyed on stage. The performances are enhanced by the use of music created with instruments like cymbals, drums, horns, single-stringed guitars, etc. The puppets are portrayed in many creative ways like boys riding on buffalos and dragons appearing suddenly from underwater. Water puppetry provides a great source of entertainment for both the young ones and elders alike and is a very unique thing to do in Vietnam. Water puppetry originated from North Vietnam in the 11th century, from the Red River Delta is one of the many traditions that are very close to the hearts of Vietnamese people back when Vietnam witnessed a lengthy period of peace and prosperity after the year 1010, people were motivated to relax more and organize festivals and performances that would later become the country’s traditions. Water Puppetry in Vietnam Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons
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