Vietnamese Water Puppetry
Mua Roi Nuoc
The Beginning of Something New
Started in the villages of Vietnam
Form developed sometime prior to the 11th C.
By 1121 mastery was proficient enough to garner performances for the king
About the Stories
Traditional stories are comic retellings of daily activities of rural life
A typical 2-hour play may contain 18 or more small scenes (2-7 min. each)
Plays also teach history, the defense and building of the country, major
historical battles and the like
About the Stage
Stage “floor” is actually the surface of the water
Pool is usually about 27’ x 27’ and 3’ deep
Screen set up as backdrop as well as masking for the puppeteers
Platforming backstage on either side for musicians as well as those doing vocals
About the Puppets
The costumes of the puppets is indicative of the time period in which the story
is set
Typically 1-3 feet tall
Legs are stationary with rods or strings to control the arms
Sometimes take 2 or 3 people to operate
They are carved from water-resistant wood of the fig tree and are sealed with
resin from the lacquer tree
Heavier ones have a “buoy” piece of wood to help support the weight
Specialty puppets, beheadings, smoke, pyrotechnics, and other effects are rigged
as needed for historical tales
About the Tradition
As form grew, puppeteers split off into guilds, usually by village
As the guilds developed they wanted to maintain secrecy, most complex maneuvers
referred to by code names
Skills only passed down to men in the guild, in case the girls married outside
the village/guild
Where It’s At Now
Unknown outside of villages until the 1960’s
North Vietnamese Government began supporting it as a national art form at that
time
With the fall of Saigon and reuniting of the country it spread to South Vietnam
Since then troupes have traveled to Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Italy,
Japan, Australia, India and Great Britain
