What To Expect At Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, Hanoi

From what we gathered after our visit to Hanoi’s Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, the Vietnamese art of water puppetry is a bit ‘love it or hate it’. Personally, I thought it was quite charming and lovely. If you’re visiting Hanoi, I’d absolutely recommend checking out a show so you can make up your own mind…

The beginnings of the traditional performance style date back to the 11th century, from the rice fields of the Red River Delta. Along flooded fields, villagers would stand in the waist-deep water and act out scenes with wooden puppets, hiding their rods underneath the surface. As the art form grew, permanent water puppet pavilions were built, and the performances graduated from local traditions to royal entertainment.

_{*Posts on Mini Adventures use affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I’ll earn a small commission which helps me keep this site alive (at no additional cost to you!)*}

There are actually two main water puppet theatres in Hanoi: Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, and Lotus Theatre – both of which are in the central area on opposite sides of Hoan Kiem Lake. Both have daily shows, although Thang Long generally has more performance times available per day.

We visited the former, which is probably the better known and most popular. We hadn’t actually made plans to go, but during a quick search of ‘things to do in the area’, we realised the theatre was just around the corner from where we were standing, and headed to the box office grab some tickets for a little later in the day.

We picked up our tickets around lunchtime for a late afternoon show, and were visiting during a quieter period. To secure tickets during busier times, I’d recommend either heading to the box office at least the day before, or booking online via a third party provider.

Booking your tickets

When you book at Thang Long, there are three price tiers to choose from. The seats in the back four rows are cheapest, while the front rows are more expensive.

• Back Seats: 100,000 VND
• Standard Seats: 150,000 VND
• Front Seats: 200,000 VND

We decided to go for the standard seats, which cost 150,000 VND each (about £4). Despite my standard short girl fears of the tallest person in the room sitting right in front of me, we had a great view of the whole performance, with only the very front slightly obscured from my view.

What to expect from the show

Traditionally, Vietnamese water puppet shows bring to life mythology and folk tales from rural Vietnam. Think fishing, farming… and dragons. Stories will be driven by a narrator, commonly known as ‘Teu’.

We admittedly knew very little about both the art of water puppetry and the story behind the performance. Thankfully, it was pretty easy to follow, and a paper guide, available at the box office with your ticket, details some of the story behind what’s unfolding above the water line.

(For those who want to follow along with every element of the tale, you can hire an audio guide for an extra 50,000 VND.)

Even if you’re not picking up every beat of the story, it’s a spectacle to watch, with colourful lighting and lively set pieces. The puppetry was energetic and captivating, with music and voices adding atmosphere.

For the price of a ticket, Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre is definitely worth checking out. Even if you’re not a ‘theatre’ person, it captures an essence of traditional, rural Vietnam and offers a visual spectacle that even brought a smile to the face of my more cynical, theatre-averse boyfriend!