Vietnam to host int'l puppetry festival in February

HANOI, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- q will, for the first time, host an international puppetry festival in Hanoi, the country's capital, from Feb. 16 to 23 with the participation of 11 countries, according to a local culture agency on Thursday.

Puppetry delegations from China, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Israel, Sweden, Belgium, Brazil and Egypt will present 20 puppet shows, including water puppet, finger puppet, hand puppet, rod puppet, string puppet, shadow puppet and black light puppet, said the Performance Arts Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Vietnam has a unique form of puppetry: "mua roi nuoc" (water puppetry). Local puppeteers stand in a waist high pool and use a long rod to control wooden puppets that move in and over water.

Regarding black light puppetry, puppets are operated on stage lit only with ultraviolet lighting which hides the puppeteer but highlights the colors of the puppets.

The lighting is specially made so that there is essentially a line on the stage, where on one side there is light and on the other is darkness. The puppeteer controls the puppets over the line into the light, while he or she is unseen.