Phương Nam Theatre’s new puppet play, Lòng Mẹ (Mother’s Love) featuring 20 artists will make its debut next week. Its themes are mother’s love, bravery, self-respect and honesty. — Photo courtesy of the producer  
  HCM CITY — The Phương Nam Theatre will offer a new puppet play in HCM City every weekend in November.  

The play, Lòng Mẹ (Mother’s Love), will make its debut next week. More than 20 artists will be included. 

The play features characters from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. Themes of a mother’s love, bravery, self-respect and honesty are highlighted. 

After every show, talks about Vietnamese puppetry and its history will be featured. 

The producer invited composer Ái Cầm to compose music and songs based on Vietnamese folk music for the play. 

Lòng Mẹ was scheduled to be released in July to serve children during summer and celebrate the Mid-autumn Full Moon festival in September. It was postponed after cinemas and theatres in HCM City closed when the fourth wave of COVID-19 started in late April. 

“Phương Nam Theatre artists are ready for audiences after our suspension due to the COVID-19 outbreak,” said puppet artist Thuy Trang, who plays a leading role in Lòng Mẹ. 

Trang and her staff are also working on two water puppetry performances called Trau Vang Nghinh Tiếp (Golden Buffalo) and Ca Chep Hoa Rồng (Carps Turn into Dragons). 

These shows tell stories about patriotism and national heroes based on Vietnamese fairy tales. They will be staged at a mobile theatre with 150 seats located at the HCM City Museum of History. The theatre’s construction was completed in February.

Puppetry artists use colourful puppets made of wood, controlled from the chamber next to the stage by strings and underwater nets, to tell stories. 

“Water puppetry has been performed on a stage in a pool of water for about 1,000 years in Viet Nam,” said Phương Nam Theatre director Le Diễn, who has more than 20 years of experience in theatre. 

“We hope to encourage museum visitors, particularly young people, to learn about the country’s history, culture and lifestyle through Vietnamese puppetry,” he added. 

The puppet play Lòng Mẹ will be staged at the Phương Nam Theatre, 374 Trần Phu Street, District 5. Online tickets are offered at the theatre’s website www.nhahatphuongnam.com.

Water puppet shows will be staged every Saturday and Sunday, starting in December, at the HCM City Museum of History, 2 Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiem Street, in District 1. — VNS