Puppet theatre welcomes summer with trans-Vietnam tour

      The Central Puppet Theatre will kick of its first-ever trans-Vietnam tour on May 17. The tour will begin in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak before going to HCM City and back to Hanoi.
A 25-member troupe will serve ethnic minority groups in Dak Lak from May 17-25, with free shows in Buon Ma Thuot city and some outlying districts.
From May 29 to June 1, puppeteers will perform at the Mang Non (Young Shoots) Theatre, 193 Dong Khoi, District 1, HCM City.
In this tour, the theatre will introduce its best items from recent years, particularly “(Toy Figurine Story), which won the silver medal at the first international puppetry festival in Hanoi last year.
“This is the first time we have organised a trans-Vietnam tour and brought free shows to ethnic minority people. I hope that the tour will impress audiences and help them know more about Vietnam’s traditional art of puppetry,” said the theatre’s Director Vuong Bien.
In Hanoi, the Central Puppetry Theatre will put on a special show for the International Day for Children, June 1, which is named “Smile of Kids”.
“Smile of Kids” is a story about a mother who has to face many difficulties seeking a cure-all from the Deity of the Mountain to save her child. This is a dry-puppetry play, employing Japanese genres of puppetry, such as puppets controlled by sticks, mask puppets, etc.
The play will be put on at the Central Puppetry Theatre, 361 Truong Chinh, Hanoi from May 30 to June 1, with four shows a day.
The theatre’s director Vuong Duy Bien said the theatre is preparing a play for the 2nd International Puppetry Festival in Vietnam next year.