/ARTS WEEKLY/ASIA-EUROPE: Puppetry Crosses Boundaries

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Chayanit Poonyarat

BANGKOK, Jul 30 2002 (IPS) - Five hands moving behind a partition in a performance called ‘The Secret of Number Five’, by a Philippine puppet troupe, enthralled audiences and drew giggles from the audience – children and adults alike.

“The very basic puppets are just hands,” Amelia Lapena-Bonifacio, founder of the theatre group ‘Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas’, had earlier smilingly explained to her audience just before the performance at the Thailand Cultural Centre.

Saying the performance was aimed at teaching children how to use their hands as puppets, she demonstrated how to use them to make a bird, a frog and a turtle.

Then the audience also got a taste of the creativity – and humour – of puppetry. ‘The Secret of Number Five’ shows each of the five hands counting ‘one’ to ‘five’ in unison – but a foot instead comes up when it is time to count ‘five’. Shrieks of laughter, amid applause, meet the ‘surprise ending’ – before the curtains come down.

This performance is but one part of the week-long Asia-Europe Puppet Festival, held in the Thai capital from Jul. 17-22.

The festival was initiated by Thailand’s Office of the National Culture Commission and the Asia-Europe Foundation to bring puppetry troupes from 16 countries in Asia and Europe together, with the goal of allowing audiences to enjoy a variety of Asian-European puppetry.

The wide variety of puppetry from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, China, on one hand, and from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand on the other, reflects the diversity of folklore, tradition, belief, and history of the two continents.

This marked the first time that the puppet troupes from the two continents joined together to perform, carry out workshops, exhibit their creations to express themselves, exchange experiences and well, entertain each other. It took five years to get this first Asia-Europe Puppet Festival underway.

“The art of puppetry is actually a valuable asset of mankind,” said the secretary general of National Culture Commission, M R Chakrarot Chitrabongs. “It depicts the nature of human beings, whether it be in appearance, movements, temperaments, habits and even ways of expression.”

In addition, said M R Chakrarot, the puppet is human invention that serves to tell a story, relay a message, express hopes, wishes, emotions and dreams.

“The popular art of puppetry has long been appreciated in both Asia and Europe. It reflects humans’ different lifestyles and ways of thinking. Puppetry is practised as a means to build friendship, to convey ideas and to transfer knowledge and principles,” he added.

Thus, he said, the festival aims to be a stage for puppetry performances as entertainment and educational media for Asian and European viewers, providing an opportunity for Asian and European puppetry artists to interact with audience from different backgrounds.

Performances by puppet troupes with the festival also went around different commercial centres, schools and education institutions.

From Bangkok, puppet troupes from different countries are also going out to other areas of Thailand, including to northern Chiang Mai province.

“Not only interactions between the puppet troupes and the public are expected, but also exchange between the puppeteers themselves, for a common enriching experience, in view of potential future co-productions,” said Ambassador Delfin Colome, executive director of Asia-Europe Foundation.

The foundation, established in February 1997 by the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), which brings together South-east Asian and European officials, seeks to promote better understanding between Asia and Europe through greater intellectual, cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Workshops on puppetry tradition and development in Asia and Europe, performances and exhibition of various puppet techniques and puppet making were also held as part of the festival. Very traditional troupes to the more contemporary performances were on show.

At the same time, festival organisers say puppetry needs to be made popular again because this precious traditional art is in real need for preservation and promotion against the backdrop of modern games, toys and entertainment available all around these days.

“I’m very impressed and enjoyed what I saw,” 24 year-old Kanjanee Phoemphoon said of a puppetry performance she saw, called ‘The Ridiculous Brave’ from Spain.

She says she found it very good for children, as they can enjoy their imagination and, at the same time, learn about morality in creative ways.

“Looking around me, I also see the event brings many families close together. Children learn from their parents as well, as it is the perfect time for parents to get to know more about their young generation,” she added.

“Though I definitely don’t understand Spanish, I became part of the performance easily. I then realised that language is not always a burden and it’s possible to enjoy and learn from different cultures,” said Kanjanee.