Hot on the heels of the Latsia Puppet and Mime Festival, the ancient performing art of puppetry will once again receive a fresh lease of life, this time with the acclaimed Hyundai Puppet Theatre from Korea.
This weekend, Korea’s premier puppet theatre will present its flagship piece Puppet City at the Rialto Theatre in Limassol, with performances to be held in the afternoon on Saturday and in the morning the following day. Let the characters of Puppet City lead you on a fantastic journey to their unforgettable land of music and dance.
The creative production draws on Korean traditional plays and uses intricate puppet manipulations. Open your eyes to a magical new world, that features puppet performances with seven traditional Korean songs and dances. The performance begins with Bongsan Talchum – a mask dance originating from the Hwanghae province. The dance is performed to expel evil forces and to bring a good year ahead.
Next is a story of a young couple, achieving happiness after overcoming their difference in status. A rendition of the traditional Fan Dance follows and two different acts present puppets playing drums quite energetically and convincingly – and an amazing puppet playing a penny flute that moves every finger in time with the music.
The performance also features four traditional Korean musical instruments – Kkwaenggwari (small gong), Jing (larger gong), Jang-go (hourglass-shaped drum) and Buk (barrel drum). The puppeteers are fully visible during the performance. Every move made is mirrored by the puppets; these puppets can pick things up, play instruments and even undress, making this an unusual performance. As for the music, audiences can expect everything from traditional Asian melodies to western pop music – even some Abba.
The Korean puppet theatre has been around for more than 40 years. At present, they are making various attempts to create educational puppet shows. They have presented traditional puppet shows on foreign stages including the Edinburgh Festival and in the Czech Republic, Greece and Bulgaria, where they have received positive reviews. They are currently developing puppet shows that will blend Eastern and Western cultures.
You may be interested to know that the founder and director of the theatre is a man called Cho Yong Suk. He is regarded in his homeland as a local Jim Henson (best known as the creator of The Muppets), after having produced a number of hit family television shows. More recently, his mission has been to introduce adults to the art of puppetry. “Our puppet theatre, Hyundai Puppet Theatre, has tried to make puppet shows for all ages,” he says, “and it’s slowly changing people’s minds.” But will it change yours?
