New version of "Tam Cam" by Thang Long Puppetry Theatre

Kịch rối — Puppeteers of Thang Long Puppetry Theatre were warmly cheered by the audience after the performance of the play "Tam - Cam" on the evening of November 23.

On the evening of November 23, Thang Long Puppetry Theatre introduced to the judges, experts, and audience at the 6th International Experimental Theatre Festival - 2025 the puppet show "Tam - Cam".

Tam - Cam: Familiar feelings, new form

Not simply recreating a folk tale, the puppet play sets out to experiment with many levels of stage language. The first highlight is the introduction of Cheo singing into puppetry, creating a space of intersection between the two traditional forms.

Cheo melodies are both a layer of cultural sediment and a thread leading the audience into a fairy tale world with familiar emotions but recreated in a new form.

The stage space is also a remarkable experiment. With only one main piece of bamboo, the artists have created many different layers of space: sometimes a field, sometimes a bamboo clump, sometimes a fig tree or a pedestal for legendary transformation scenes in the story, which is familiar to the public, especially children, about Tam and Cam.

Bamboo, a familiar material in the Vietnamese countryside, has been a material for shaping and a cultural symbol – reminiscent of the durability, simplicity, and soul of the Northern countryside. Creating puppet characters from bamboo has created a creative connection to try to find a new form in puppetry.

In particular, the music and sound design are the most prominent highlights of the play. The music is meticulously and creatively processed, combining traditional melodies with modern sound structures, creating a folk atmosphere and emotional depth, enough to support the audience's emotions in important scenes of the Tam - Cam story.

Tam - Cam and the gaps in the experimental spirit

However, if viewed from the perspective of experimental theater, the play still leaves some regrets worth pondering.

First of all, the interaction with the audience – an important element in the contemporary theater trend that has not been exploited. The play still mainly follows the traditional narrative and illustration style, which is somewhat lengthy and formulaic, making the pace sometimes slow, especially for the children – the main audience of puppetry who come to Pham Thi Tran Theater to watch with their parents.

Some parents think that the play is too long, many cheo singing sections are not handled properly, leading to a lengthy narrative, and the important thing is that the content of the story is too familiar. If it were staged in a layered style, stringing together the main events and having a new perspective of the characters on the critical nature of the Tam - Cam story with the eyes of a contemporary audience, the experiment would be more effective.

Some of the pieces are more about "narration" than experience, which dampens the theatrical energy at moments that should be emotionally explosive. In the context of a festival dedicated to experimentation, this might be an area the production needs to explore further: how to make the fairy tale not just "retold", but "relived" through the interaction, choice, and participation of the audience.

Regarding puppetry, besides the beautiful and sensual puppets, there are still some designs that have not reached the level of shimmering and magical, especially in surreal scenes such as transformation, incarnation, or the appearance of Buddha. The lighting, despite many efforts, is sometimes still not enough to support these designs, making the visual effects not reach the necessary sublimation.

Towards a New Look on the Path of Contemporary Puppetry

"Tam Cam" of Thang Long Puppetry Theatre, in the end, is a valuable step on the path of finding a new face for Vietnamese puppetry. The play not only brings a fairy tale to today's generation, but also adds a voice to the broader discussion: how puppetry - a traditional art form - is not "framed" in the past, but continues to live in the flow of modernization and international integration.

That is what the organizers are aiming for. The advantage of the script adapted through the Cheo material is the talent of the author, who has transformed the dialogues of the characters into sweet Cheo melodies, even the poetry in the puppet play also creates a poignant feeling for the audience who loves traditional art.

However, the "not yet" points of the play will become valuable material for seminars and discussions on the sidelines of the Festival. Because experimentation, in itself, is not perfection, but a process of searching - making mistakes - then moving forward, will form a new face in the integration trend and towards the achievements of the Cultural Industry in our country.

And on that journey, the puppet show "Tam Cam" has left a good introduction so that the upcoming discussion on November 26 will be a space for domestic and international artists to discuss.

The question is how can folk memories be both preserved and revived in a new theatrical language – not only for today, but also for tomorrow's audiences?

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tam-cam-phien-ban-moi-cua-nha-hat-mua-roi-thang-long-196251124190438571.htm