The Viet Nam National Water Puppetry Theatre will present an innovative version of the classic art form, aimed at pleasing young and old alike, with their upcoming show in the capital.

Waterlogged: A scene in Country Soul, a new programme presented by the National Water Puppetry Theatre.

Hon Que (Country Soul) contains a series of traditional scenes that have been modified to appeal to young people by incorporating installation art with water puppetry.

"To draw youngsters to traditional art, we have to keep it fresh," said Vuong Duy Bien, author and director of the puppetry theatre. "We use installation art and world music, composed by Quoc Trung, instead of traditional stage decoration or opera."

To change the usual look of water puppetry theatre, the number of characters in every scene is double or triple that of other water puppetry ensembles.

Shows usually use two phoenixes, one green and one red, but the National Theatre's show triples it and makes the phoenixes white. In the Mua Den (Dancing With Lights) segment, Bien introduces 12 country girls rather than the usual six.

In the shows on Saturday and Sunday starting from 8.30pm at the Quan Doi (Military) Club on Hoang Dieu Street, audiences will see for the first time the theatre's actors performing with puppets in the extract Danh Ca (Catching Fish).

"I hope audiences of different ages will like our shows," Bien said with a smile. "They don't tell concrete story, rather they evoke childhood memories and nostalgic feelings about home in viewers.

Country's Soul is in celebration of the National Day on September 2.

(Source: Viet Nam News)