Water Puppet Theatre

Mua roi nuoc began in the flooded paddy fields and village ponds of the Red River Delta and is recorded on a temple stele of the twelfth century. The puppets are carved from fig wood, lacquered and painted, and worked from behind a bamboo screen by puppeteers standing in the water, using long rods and strings hidden beneath the surface. A small orchestra sits at the side with a moon lute, a one-stringed dan bau, drums and wooden clappers, and the singers narrate. The scenes are short and rural: rice planting, buffalo fights, a fox stealing ducks, fishermen, boat races, and the golden dragons that close most programmes. The comic narrator Teu introduces them.

What you actually see

• Teu - the grinning narrator who opens the show and comments on it throughout.
• The dragon finale - four gilded dragons weaving across the pool, spitting water and sparks.
• The live orchestra - dan bau, moon lute, drums and singers at the side of the pool.
• The bow at the end - the puppeteers wade out from behind the screen, soaked to the chest.

When to go

Hanoi theatres run several shows a day, from late afternoon into the evening, each lasting about fifty minutes. Book a day or two ahead in high season, and pay the small extra for the front rows, since sight lines from the back are poor. Village troupes in the delta perform mainly around lunar new year and the spring festival season.

Honest expectations

The city shows are firmly aimed at visitors, the commentary is in Vietnamese without subtitles, and the same programme runs year after year. Seats are cramped and the front rows get splashed. The recorded introduction is loud. An hour is enough for most people, and children often enjoy it more than adults expecting depth.

Nearby

Hanoi's main theatre stands on the north-east corner of Hoan Kiem Lake.