International tourists line up to watch water puppetry
In the Hoan Kiem Lake area, in front of the Thang Long Puppet Theater, the atmosphere is always bustling from morning to night. Many foreign tourists patiently line up to buy tickets, waiting for their turn to enter and watch.
Many visitors only stay in Vietnam for a short time, but still prioritize experiencing water puppetry as an unmissable "cultural specialty".
Travel businesses play an important role in promoting water puppetry to international tourists, as Thang Long Puppet Theater is frequently chosen as a destination on the journey to explore Vietnamese culture. Through experiential tours, this traditional art form is increasingly closer to international friends.
Thomas, a tourist from England, currently living in South Africa, said that he has never seen a similar program. “This is really a great experience. I am very impressed to see how Vietnamese people express culture through music and performances,” he said.
According to Thomas, the underwater performance with the puppet control system behind the stage made him "almost unbelievable". The underwater control poles are truly amazing. Everything is very smooth and lively.
Mr. Tommy Shaw (France) also commented that the program was "really impressive" and paid special attention to the live performance of the folk orchestra. "The artists are very talented. I was fascinated by a string instrument that was played and adjusted right on stage, although I didn't know the name, the performance made me unable to take my eyes off it" - the guest said.
Many viewers admitted that they were "almost speechless" throughout the performance, and at the same time assessed this as a unique experience, different from previous art programs.
Factors that create success
According to sharing from Meritorious Artist Duc Hung - Deputy Director of Thang Long Puppet Theater, the theater's revenue is increasing, mostly from a stable number of international guests. The biggest advantage of the theater lies in owning an artistic product rich in identity. "The lucky thing is that we have an art form that is very popular in the world, especially with international friends" - Mr. Hung shared.
Amidst the context of many theater units facing difficulties in attracting audiences and maintaining ticket sales, Thang Long Puppet Theater achieved hundreds of billions of VND in revenue. This difference clearly shows the difference in approaching audiences between art forms, especially in the context of an increasingly competitive entertainment market.
Water puppetry is an art form imbued with Vietnamese cultural identity, highly unique and easily accessible to international tourists. The performance content does not depend much on language, helping foreign audiences still understand and enjoy it fully.
In addition, the short program duration and flexible performance schedule during the day also help tourists easily arrange time to experience.
