A Vietnamese puppetry performance has been selected to raise the curtain of the 36th International Theatre Institute (ITI) World Congress due to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 21.
A Vietnamese puppetry performance will open World Theatre Congress.
The performance Mo Rong (Dragon Dream) will be led by director Le Quy Duong and performed by artists from the Vietnam Puppetry Theatre.
Dragon Dream will be the only performance representing the Asia-Pacific region to open the show alongside performances of theatrical representatives from Europe, Africa, Latin America, Oceania, and the Middle East.
Director Le Quy Duong states that the performance is a combination of the traditional drum in Cheo, which is a traditional Vietnamese opera art form, and unique foot puppetry.
The performance tells of “Chu Teu”, a humourous farmer, who is a vivid symbol of Vietnamese folklore. When war suddenly strikes, people come together to show solidarity and support each other to overcome all difficulties, with “Chu Teu” being saved by a pair of dragons during the conflict.
The performance will be watched by nearly 1,000 delegates from 100 countries and territories from across the world attending the congress. In addition, the show will be broadcast live on the national television channel of the UAE.
The 36th ITI World Congress will be held in Fujairah (UAE) from February 19 to 25, the first worldwide on-site ITI gathering since 2017.