French expert impressed by Vietnamese puppetry

Miguel Arreche, general secretary of Unima (Union Internationale de la Marionnette), a non-government orgasnisation affiliated to UNESCO, was invited to chair the first international Marionnette Festival in Vietnam from February 16-23. He told about his impression on Vietnamese puppetry.

* What’s been your impression of the first international puppet festival in Vietnam?

I heard about the festival two or three years ago from Mr. [Vuong Duy Bien], director of the National Puppet Theatre. And finally the festival began. It was very good news.

Asia is not the only region in the world to hold festivals. In Europe there were nearly 200-300 festivals last year.

Some troupes are at an international level. I hope there will be a second festival. This will be an opportunity to exchange techniques and knowledge between Asian and European puppeteers.

Everybody has something to learn from others. These artists that say I know everything, I don’t have anything else to learn - this is very stupid. Everybody can teach and everybody can learn.

The festival is a very special opportunity to practise doing that. Perhaps the puppeteers know about the taste of the audiences but everyone has different opinions, you like one and I like the other. That happens at every festival, there are groups you like or you don’t like, some excellent and others very poor. This is the life of the festival.

* What performance did you like the most and why?

For me I saw many of the shows on DVDs, but here I saw them live. I was really impressed by the show Country Soul, by the National Puppet Theatre of Mr. Bien. I was very moved, it was something so artistic, with such wonderful sound. It’s extremely good, the lighting, the music, the water puppets, the actors, the song and the dance. I have to say that it’s one of the best shows I’ve seen in the last three years.

The moral of the puppet show was very important. For me, this was something new, like a new step. It was a very intelligent use of the traditional art. The show used traditional forms in a contemporary way, making the puppets real. A puppet is not only a puppet that moves and makes noises; puppet art is theatre. It must be enriched from the all the arts; sculpture, painting, music, dance. And all this you can find in Country Soul.

* Vietnamese shows have been described as very grand. What do you think?

It’s a super production, it’s true. It’s a great production and so it can’t be easy to actually do. But now that I’ve seen it, I will recommend the show to all my friends.

* Do you like the idea behind Country Soul?

Sometimes in theatre, especially in puppet theatre, it’s not necessary to have a strong storyline. Normally yes, but it’s not always absolutely necessary. Of course, in puppet theatre, there doesn’t have to be a denouement like in other theatre. For me, this is an exceptional element in puppetry.

* What tips can you give Vietnamese artists about developing traditional water puppetry?

What I recommend is to preserve the traditional art. In Europe we have lost traditions. So when I came to Asia, to developing countries, I appreciated their traditions. Asia has traditions but has also developed contemporary forms of puppetry. In Europe, it’s the opposite, we have too many contemporary puppets, we don’t preserve traditions and it’s not good, I don’t want a world that’s not good. I would also like to suggest the Vietnamese responsible for the puppetry to organise training workshops to teach contemporary techniques because we have seen here in the festival some contemporary Vietnamese shows but they need to improve. Not only their techniques, and drama but director of the stage and other things.

(Source: Viet Nam News)