Liem had 8-day performance of water puppetry on Vietnam Day in Brazil at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first time the Vietnamese traditional art was performed there.

"Since air freight to the Americas is very expensive, I streamlined the props for performance, just weighing 100 kilograms,” he said. 

Previously, he used metal sheets to build the performance pool. Though the metal was light, it was still heavy for one person to carry. Later, he thought of using iron net with meshes. He cut the net and weld it into a pool which could contain 3 cubic meters of water. 

Finally, he got a stage which was gilded with silver plating, with the character 'Longevity' and two dragons on each side, and a red tiled roof, meticulously made. The audience loved it, and took a lot of pictures of the stage.

Having performed water puppetry in many countries, Phan Thanh Liem was still touched when performing in Brazil. 

"There are few Vietnamese people there. The water puppetry deeply reminded them of their homeland. A Vietnamese woman married to a Brazilian came to see the performance with her family. Her in laws watched water puppetry every day, from morning to afternoon, before leaving,” he recalled. 

Some Vietnamese women wearing ao dai (Vietnamese traditional long dress) also came to watch the performance. 

Phan Thanh Liem is the seventh generation of his family with the tradition of performing water puppetry. 

His father, artist Phan Van Ngai, is the creator of the mobile water puppet stage and the 'father' of the Teu puppet figure displayed at the Louvre Museum in France.

While participating in his family's water puppet troupe, he realized that large stages were too cumbersome and unsuited for small performance groups. He created a miniature water puppet stage, debuting in 2000. 

He is one of the Vietnamese artists who has performed water puppetry abroad the most. For nearly a quarter of a century, he has brought the art of water puppetry to many countries.

Liem noted that the Japanese and Koreans were very civilized in queuing. He once had a performance in Japan amid intense heat. Adults and children alike just sat quietly to watch without seeking shelter. They lined up even in heavy rain to watch the performance because they loved water puppetry.

The artist hopes to continue international tours to further promote Vietnam’s unique traditional culture.

Tinh Le