Vietnam is among two gold winners for best productions for the water puppet show “Tre – Coc” (the chronicle of the catfish and the frogs) by the Vietnam Puppetry Theatre. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam bagged seven gold medals at the 5th International Marionette Festival, which ended on October 15 in Hanoi.
Vietnam was among two gold winners for best productions for the waterpuppet show “Tre – Coc” (the chronicle of the catfish and the frogs) by theVietnam Puppetry Theatre. The play is based on a Vietnamese folk tale believedto date from the early thirteenth century.
In the tale, a catfish steals tadpoles from two frogs. The frogs appealto a mandarin, who orders the catfish be imprisoned but the wife of the catfishbribes an underling of the mandarin to have the affair re-examined. Themandarin’s inspectors, after travelling to the pond, declare the tadpoles werethe true offspring of the catfish.
The other gold medal was awarded to a puppet troupe from Laos.
The host country also claimed six out of eight gold medals for variousindividual prizes.
Nguyen Phuong Nhi from the Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre won thebest director for a new production entitled “Cong Chua Toc May” (TangledPrincess), which combines water puppetry, rod puppetry and string puppetry. The45-minute show conveys a message about environmental protection. The best stagedesign award went to Ngo Thang from the Vietnam Puppetry Theatre.
The best puppet design, best music and best costume awards went toLaos, Cambodia and Thailand, respectively.
Christian Elijah Lunaria, a 10-year-old puppeteer from Lunaria FamilyMarionette Troupe of the Philippines, grabbed the award for young talent.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Vuong Duy Bien, chairman of the jury,said the fifth International Marionette Festival concluded in a huge successthanks to the artists’ hard work. The jury appreciated the passion of bothlocal and foreign puppeteers that has created success for each production atthis year’s festival, he added.
The fifth International Marionette Festival was held in Hanoi fromOctober 8-15, featuring about 100 puppeteers from Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, Belgium, Franceand Brazil.
Vietnamese participants included theVietnam Puppetry Theatre, Thang Long Puppetry Theatre, Hai Phong PuppetryTheatre and HCM Puppetry Theatre.
In addition to performances in Hanoi,puppetry troupes also performed in the northern provinces of Ninh Binh and VinhPhuc.–VNA
VNA
