Water puppeteer Phan Thanh Liem.

The shows are to be made at the invitation of Vietnam – RoK Friendship Association marking the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries.

During their performances, which will last around 50 minutes each, the team will introduce classic water puppetry plays to Korean audiences, such as duck catching and the dragon and phoenix dances.

This will be the third time Liem has performed in the RoK and he shared that Korean audiences have shown great interest in Vietnam’s water puppetry.

He said that he hopes to bring an up close look at Vietnam’s cultural identity to Korean friends during the upcoming trip.

Phan Thanh Liem was born into a family that has been preserving water puppetry in Nam Truc district, in the northern province of Nam Dinh, for seven generations. His father is the famous puppeteer Phan Van Ngai, who created the mobile water puppetry stage. Ngai also made the Chu Teu (a humorous farmer) puppet, which is on display in France’s Louvre Museum.

Liem is the very first artisan to create a mini water puppetry stage, which hosts regular shows at his private house on Kham Thien street in Hanoi and has attracted many visitors both from home and abroad.

Liem has been invited to bring his mobile theatre to many international puppet festivals around the world including in the UK, the RoK, Thailand, China, Italy, Canada and the US.

Source: NDO