Wed2 Mar 7pm 
Thu3 Mar 7pm & 9pm Fri4 Mar 7pm & 9pm Sat5 Mar 5pm & 7pm & 9pm Sun6 Mar 3pm & 5pm & 7pm Tue8 Mar 7pm Wed9 Mar 7pm & 9pm Thu10 Mar 7pm & 9pm Fri11 Mar 7pm & 9pm Sat12 Mar 5pm & 7pm & 9pm Sun13 Mar 10am & 12pm & 5.30pm Tue15 Mar 7pm Wed16 Mar 7pm & 9pm Thu17 Mar 7pm & 9pm Fri18 Mar 7pm & 9pm Sat19 Mar 5pm & 7pm & 9pm Sun20 Mar 3pm & 5pm & 7pm
Garden Theatre, Aotea Square
Adult$52.50Friend/Conc$47.50Child (13 years and under)$32.50Family (2 Adults 2 children)$140.00
50 mins (no interval)
Vietnamese Water Puppets
Thang Long Troupe, Vietnam
Sorry this event has been and gone
NZ PREMIERE.
The enchanting ancient art of Vietnamese water puppetry comes to
New Zealand for the first time!
A fantastic and unique cultural experience that will mesmerise
adults and children alike, water puppetry has been performed on the
surface of ponds and paddy fields of the Red River Delta for a
thousand years - the lively creation of farmers who spend their
days tending the flooded rice plantations. In Auckland, the
puppets' home is the Garden Theatre - a miniature lake and seating
area, specially constructed to fit the surrounds of the Festival
Garden (Aotea Square).
The Thang Long Troupe brings New Zealand families the magical and
exhilarating experience that has delighted audiences around the
world; a carefully protected art, whose ancient secrets and complex
skills have been guarded for centuries.
Water is the setting for stories of village life - scenes of
farming and fishing, buffalo fights, and children's games of
marbles and coin-toss. Lion dogs romp like puppies while dragons
exhale smoke and shoot sprays of water at the audience accompanied
by a lively folk orchestra.
* Puppets perform outdoors rain or shine
Children from 5 to 12 years old join in
the
New Zealand Post Vietnamese Water Puppet Design Competition,
winners receive their own authentic Puppet hand carved by the Thang
Long Troupe.
Sponsored by
REVIEWS
"An absolutely charming show… completely authentic and
original."
- Paul Bushnell, Radio New Zealand
"As exhilarating as it is historic, a rare enchanting
treat."
- San Francisco Examiner (USA)
"Folk art of considerable charm…Arrive early. Keep the kids
up!"
- New York Post (USA)
"The puppets are beautiful to look at, resembling
intricately carved sculpture or colourfully enamelled porcelain
dolls. Think of it as a special-effects spectacle, modest in the
land of Spielberg, but a still enchanting array of dragons
breathing firecrackers, a mist unfolding over the water, a
shimmering flower."
- Newsday (USA)