On the stage of the Hanoi Cheo Theater, an excerpt of the famous Cheo play “Ms Mau goes to the pagoda” is being performed. The theater is packed. As the stage lighting changes, a screen appears showing a blue lake and Uncle Teu, the most famous character of Vietnamese water puppetry, greets the audience.

At the usual water puppetry show, puppeteers handle the puppets in the water while the orchestra and Cheo artists sit on a nearby stage. But in a Long Thanh performance, Cheo and water puppetry are integrated with the help of a multi-functional stage that has a wooden floor above a pool of water. Cheo artists sing, act and handle the puppets at the same time. This integrated performance wows the audience. Emeritus Artist Ngoc Anh is Head of Troupe 3 of Hanoi Cheo Theater: “It’s not easy to handle the puppets even for Cheo artists. But it makes the performance more interesting to handle the puppets while singing. We have to learn to handle the puppets and make them more lively and soulful on the stage”.

Characters’ expressions and movements are reflected in the singing and voices of the artists. The artists are so talented that they give the audience the impression that the puppets are really crying, laughing, singing and dancing.

In a small theater, the audience sit close to the stage and close to the artists. They are sometimes given gifts by the characters in the show.

The one-hour show combines cheo (traditional theater), Chau Van (ceremonial folk singing), Xam (street singing) and performance of traditional musical instruments. Ho Minh Hien of Hanoi is in the audience: “The show is interesting and inspiring. It has taught me something about traditional folk arts. In one hour, the show presents excerpts from severeal famous traditional plays. The artists are excellent”.

A screen provides English subtitle for foreigners in the audience. Zeev, an Israeli, says he likes the show. Zeev has watched water puppetry three times, but this is the first time he watches such an interesting show. Zeev told us: “In this show, we hear Vietnamese traditional folk songs. The tunes, instruments, stories, dances and costumes are all very nice. We also go to the stage to take photos with the artists and watch them making up. It’s very interesting”.