Water puppetry was formed and developed during the Ly Dynasty (1010 - 1225), and over time, it has been passed down from generation to generation. From an art with folk elements, water puppetry has quickly become a traditional art, with its own place in the national stage.
The water puppet stage uses the water surface as a stage (also known as the water pavilion), behind there is a backdrop to create a water puppet performance stage surrounded by decorations of flags, fans, elephants, parasols, votive gates... The water pavilion is often built in the middle of a pond or lake with a balanced architecture symbolizing the communal house roof of rural Vietnam. On the stage are puppets (made of wood) performing thanks to the control of people behind the backdrop through a system of poles, strings... Adding to the lively atmosphere of the performance are the supporting sounds of drums and firecrackers.
In Vietnam's treasure trove of water puppetry, there are 30 traditional performances and hundreds of modern puppetry performances telling folk tales and the daily lives of Vietnamese people.
Below are images from a performance of Lotus Puppetry at the Vietnam Contemporary Art Theatre under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Special performances of Lotus Puppetry such as: "Dragon Dance", "Returning the Sword to the Father in Glory", "Le Loi Returns the Sword"... are very popular with audiences, especially international visitors. Normally, Lotus Puppetry performs two shows a day, the fixed show is at 5:15 p.m., the remaining shows are at 6:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. depending on the situation.
Over the past 3 decades, the Contemporary Arts Theater has invested in building facilities, stage systems, equipment and presented attractive plays, combining water puppetry and contemporary music and dance with new and fun colors but still maintaining traditional cultural features to improve service quality with the desire to become an attractive destination to attract audiences and tourists to develop tourism. To attract tourists, the theater has cooperated with travel companies to bring visitors to enjoy traditional culture.
