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The Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi is a special treat for all theatre afficionados visiting this fascinating Vietnamese city. Traditional legends and historical tales are among the enchanting puppet plays performed at the popular theatre, which is located at 57B, Dinh Tien Hoang Street, nearby Hoan Kiem Lake.
The Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi was established in 1969. Since then, every year, about 500 shows are offered to approximately 150,000 spectators.
Moreover, the theatre has brought the unique water puppetry art to more than forty foreign countries, like Japan, France, America, Australia, Spain… through performance tours, international cultural exchange programs, and puppetry festivals.
Water puppetry – known in Vietnam as Múa rối nước, meaning ‘making puppets dance on water’ – is a Vietnamese tradition steeped in history, folklore, and mystery.
To this day, when visitors to Hanoi flock to the main theatre to experience the unusual art, it isn’t known how the little figures are mastered so seamlessly by hidden puppeteers.
The art dates back to the 11th century, on the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam. It was then, rice farmers began to craft their puppets and create shows to entertain their family and locals once the difficult harvest season had finished.
They also believed the shows kept the naughty spirits distracted from creating any mischief which could harm the farmers’ crops.
The farmers built pagodas above their rice paddies and held community festival shows there to show off their creations and well-practised puppeteering skills.
It is believed that the water aspect originated as a practicality. For when large floods hit the rice paddies at Red River Delta, the farmers had to adapt their conventional puppetry, by operating the wooden figures from waist-deep water.
Thus, the liquid stage – which hides the puppeteers, helps with acoustics, and gives the show a mystical shimmer – was born.
Khoi Nguyen, Hanoi local and founder of Instagram’s @Hanoicapital, says: “The puppetry reflects the culture of ancient, agricultural Vietnam. Modern Vietnam has become a rapidly developing country filled with technology, big changes and a fast-moving lifestyle. However, the symbol of agriculture never disappeared, and water puppetry remains a cultural symbol and traditional entertainment, so it can be seen as something Vietnamese people are proud of.”
Although water puppetry is now performed across Vietnam and even tours the world, the most revered performance house is the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi.
At performances here, puppeteers follow the old traditions and stand waist deep in the water behind a screen and operate the puppets on large rods to give the impression that the figures are moving across the water.
Most performances involve between seven and eleven puppeteers who usually train for at least three years.
In the past, skills were passed from father to son only, as villagers feared that daughters would pass on the secrets of water puppetry when marrying outside of the village.
The performances are accompanied by traditional Vietnamese folk music played on drums, cymbals, wooden bells, horns, bamboo flutes, and a single stringed guitar.
The music is an integral part of the show, with the instrumentalists often shouting words of encouragement to the puppets.
The shows include both human and animal puppet characters to depict traditional Vietnamese folk tales and legends, such as the Legend of the Restored Sword of King Le (the story of Hoan Kiem Lake and the giant tortoise). You will see a boy riding a buffalo whilst playing a flute, and fire breathing dragons dancing on the water, complete with fireworks.
When used on a daily basis, the average lifespan of a water puppet is four months, meaning that some villages in Northern Vietnam are able to maintain their income and livelihoods with manufacturing water puppets.
If you find yourself in Hanoi one of these days, don’t forget to see one of the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre shows.
Thang Long Theatre is near the famous Hoan Kiem Lake. A ten-minute taxi ride or 25-minute walk from Hanoi’s main station. The shows are on every day of the year, several times a day from 3:30 pm onwards or 9:30 am on Sundays.
Official Website Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre
Atlas Obscura article “Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre”
Article “Hanoi Water Puppet Theatre” on Vietnam Online
Article “A Brief History of Hanoi’s Water Puppet Theatre” on Culture Trip
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Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. Liam has always been engaged in creative pursuits, ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories and poetry, to working in theatre and shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, 'Paralian'.
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