Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre: Shows, Tickets and What You Will See

Few things feel as particular to northern Vietnam as múa rối nước, water puppetry. Lacquered wooden figures glide, splash and spin across a pool of water while musicians play and sing beside the stage. If you want to see a water puppet show in Hanoi, the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, on the edge of Hoan Kiem Lake, stages one every day of the year.

Where water puppetry comes from

The theatre traces water puppetry back to the eleventh century, to villages of the Red River Delta. When the rice fields flooded, villagers used the water as a stage and entertained each other with puppets. That farming world is still at the heart of the art: many scenes show ploughing, bailing water, harvesting and village festivals.

The technique has not changed much. The puppets are carved from wood and lacquered, then mounted on long bamboo poles. The puppeteers stand hidden behind a screen at the back of a small pavilion-style stage, called a thủy đình, and work the figures under the surface so that they seem to move across the water on their own.

The Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre

The company began in 1969 as the Kim Đồng art troupe in Hanoi and took up traditional water puppetry seriously in the difficult years around 1990. In 1993 it moved into a former cinema on Đinh Tiên Hoàng Street, facing Hoan Kiem Lake, which had been converted into a puppet theatre. It became the Thang Long Puppet Theatre in 2001 and is run under Hanoi’s Department of Culture and Sports.

The theatre says that an Asian records organisation recognised it in 2013 for performing water puppetry every day of the year, and it has toured abroad many times. The auditorium is small, with around three hundred seats, so everyone sits fairly close to the water.

What you will see in a water puppet show

A show is not one long story but a sequence of short scenes. The theatre’s programme draws on traditional folk pieces such as:

• Chú Tễu, the cheeky narrator figure who jokes about everyone and links the scenes together;
• dragon and phoenix dances, symbols of good fortune and faithful love;
• a buffalo boy playing the flute, and scenes of farmers ploughing and planting rice;
• children swimming and boat races, from village festivals;
• King Lê Lợi returning the sword to the golden turtle, the legend behind Hoan Kiem Lake’s name;
• the four sacred animals: dragon, unicorn, tortoise and phoenix.

The music is live. Musicians play traditional instruments such as the đàn bầu (monochord), đàn nhị (two-string fiddle), bamboo flute and zither, and sing in the style of chèo, northern Vietnamese folk opera. Words are in Vietnamese, but the action is easy to follow, and the theatre offers an audio guide in several languages at extra cost.

Local tip Seats are priced by row, and the hall is compact, so even the cheaper rows are not far from the water. Choose by budget rather than worrying about the view.

Tickets and booking

Ticket prices depend on where you sit, and the booking options are in the table at the top of this guide. Shows regularly fill the hall, so it is worth booking a day or two ahead. Confirm the show time when you book, as the theatre sets its own schedule and it can change.

Where you can, buy from the theatre’s own box office, website or phone line, so that you pay the listed price.

Visiting respectfully

• Arrive a little early to find your seat; the hall is compact and fills quickly.
• Turn off your phone’s sound and keep the aisles clear.
• Follow the staff’s guidance on photography and filming during the show.
• The theatre describes the show as suitable for all ages; with small children, an aisle seat makes it easier to step out if needed.

Getting there and nearby sights

The theatre is on Đinh Tiên Hoàng Street, opposite Hoan Kiem Lake and next to the Old Quarter, so it is easy to reach on foot from most central hotels. A show fits well at the end of a walk around the lake and Ngoc Son Temple, or before dinner in the Old Quarter. On weekend evenings the streets around the lake become a walking street, which makes the area especially lively before or after a show.