Name: Thang Long Water Puppet Theater
Address: 57b Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Telephone: +84 4 3936 4335 ‎ ·
Rating: 5.0000

Alicia Ortego

Water Puppets

Water puppetry is an ancient Vietnam art form. There are two stories that seem to explain its origin: one says that it was started among rice farmers who worked in the flooded rice paddies of the Red River delta. The other states that it began with traditional puppets being used during a great flood.

While the audience will invariably be mainly western tourists, the fact is that the show is just beautiful. I loved the stories! Peasants defending their villages against dragons, inter-clan battles, fisherman fighting with their fish (to the point to where it seems like there was a real live fish in the water), all accompanied by music which seems to breathe life into the show.

The musicians are in a sort of box off to one side of the stage, which itself is a water tank. The puppets are controlled by people on the sides of the stage (in waist-deep water) who move them with long sticks adapted with some mechanism to move the puppets back and forth.

Apparently, the puppets only last 3 or 4 months and then you have to replace them. Their manufacture is big business but you can also find smaller examples in nearby souvenir shops.

The shows tend to fill up, so make sure to get your tickets a few hours ahead of time or else you'll be spending the night in your hotel room!

Complete spectacle

Visiting this small theatre in Hanoi to see the water puppets is quite an experience. It’s very cheap and there are several shows each day. The shows last around an hour and there is a surcharge if you wish to film or take photos. This is a genuine expression of Vietnamese culture which combines music, song, and puppets. I think everyone in the audience was impressed with the skill and professionalism of the people behind the puppets.

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