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In Hanoi, the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre is the place to visit for this traditional artform, the only water puppet show running 365 days a year.

Address: 55B Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam ( Location on Google Maps).

Tickets cost US$7.50 for shows lasting about 50 minutes each. The Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre in Saigon has three daily shows – 5pm, 6:30pm and 7:45pm. Located inside of a giant sports complex between Tao Dan Park and the Reunification Palace, the Golden Dragon show regularly sells out. In Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), the most popular water puppet show is unquestionably the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre. Wherever tourists congregate in Vietnam, you'll find a popular water puppet production holding regular performances. Rick Price/Getty Images Water Puppet Shows in Hanoi & Saigon The musicians providing voices for the show – who, unlike the puppeteers, can see the puppets and their movements – sometimes shout codewords to warn the puppeteers when a puppet is not where it should be. Great shows of skill include passing objects from puppet to puppet and other coordinated movements which have to be done by instinct rather than sight. Trying to figure out exactly how puppeteers can control the intricate movements blindly is part of the magic of each water puppet show.

The puppeteers even have their own dialect and codewords to prevent someone from overhearing talk of a particular technique. The secret of how water puppet shows work has been kept quiet for centuries.

Water puppet shows haven't changed much since those early years typical themes are deeply rooted in rural traditions such as planting rice, fishing, and village folklore. Simple stages were constructed around flooded rice paddies puppeteers regularly suffered from leech bites and other problems from standing in the murky water for so long. The first Vietnamese puppet shows weren't just for the entertainment of villagers – the shows were thought to keep the spirits entertained enough that they would not cause mischief. Water puppet shows are thought to have originated around the Red River Delta in North Vietnam sometime in the 11th century. vinhdav/Getty Images The History of Vietnamese Water Puppets The language makes little difference the theatrics of the colorful puppets and the constant wonder of how the performers can hide beneath the water is enough to keep the water puppet shows entertaining!Īt the end of each performance, the eight puppeteers typically come out of the water to take a dripping bow. In keeping with tradition, Vietnamese water puppet shows are typically performed with no English. The wooden puppets used in Vietnamese water puppet shows are handmade and can weigh up to 30 pounds each! The stage and puppets are awash in vivid colors colored lights and a foggy mist over the murky water add to the mystery. (The secret of how puppeteers control the puppets from beneath the water has been closely guarded for centuries – see if you can figure it out!) A Typical Vietnamese Water Puppet Showĭon't expect realistic movements or intricate costumes found at puppet shows in other parts of Asia. Musicians on either side of the pool provide vocals and music with traditional instruments. It's worlds away from the modern entertainment experience: puppets move jerkily along the water's surface, their puppet-masters hidden from view behind a screen and the murky water. Unlike the shadow puppetry found in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, the puppet shows held throughout Vietnam take place over a waist-deep pool of water.