Red River Delta Water Puppets

Among the must-see sights in Hanoi is the Water Puppet (Mua Roi Nuoc) show at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre. Water puppet theater has been providing entertainment from its origins in the Red River delta in northern Vietnam for nearly a thousand years. With so much “rehearsal time,” the presentation of short vignettes such as rural life, the dragon dance, rearing ducks, catching foxes, on a buffalo with a flute, and catching frogs is performed with a practiced elegance.

A traditional Vietnamese orchestra provides background music accompaniment. Further enhancing the experience of seeing three foot high puppets frolicking about in the water are singers of Cheo (a form of opera), singing the story being performed by the puppets.

The staging of the performance is rather simple. Puppets made of water resistant fig wood are fixed to bamboo poles approximately four feet long and operated by puppeteers standing in hip-deep water. The puppeteers are hidden by a bamboo curtain running the length of the back of the water stage. Each of the 17 vignettes we enjoyed lasted about 2 – 3 minutes.

Admission was moderately priced between 20,000 to 40,000 dong with another 10,000 dong required for use of the camera. Pre-show introductions on the background of the performance were provided in English. When our puppet narrator or Chu Teu emerged, not surprisingly, Vietnamese was the language of the show.

Our written program in Vietnamese, English and French offered some insight into the theme and significance of the short performances. Our program explained that The Harvest Festival was the depiction of a new graduate’s return to his village and his desire to express his gratitude to his ancestors. We recognized the depiction of the Restored Sword legend as a tortoise puppet took from Le Loi the magical sword he used to route Chinese overloads. The tortoise then disappeared beneath the water thus returning the sword to its divine owners.

We know we missed many of the underlying social and cultural elements of the performances. Imagine Vietnamese watching a performance of Okalahoma trying to figure out why a surrey with the fringe on the top is such a big deal. We need more cultural exchange programs!

At the conclusion of the performance, the puppeteers emerged from behind the bamboo curtain to receive much deserved applause and recognition. The orchestra received their recognition as well.

The crowd, mainly tourists, then rose and milled about the theater souvenir stand before climbing back onto tour buses. We ambled the short distance from the theatre back to our hotel. A stop at a cyber café (3,000 dong/ hour:20 cents) gave us a chance to check e-mail. As we continued to the hotel, we marveled at all the displays of flowers, candies, paper lanterns and other goodies in small street shops, providing gifts to celebrate National Women’s Day. Another reason for more cultural exchange programs.