Chinese Puppet Show 掌中班
(Malay Street Ghaut, Penang 26 September 2015)
I chanced upon a puppet show by the road side at Malay Street
Ghaut when I was heading to my mum’s house.
The puppet
show was set up to celebrate the birthday of a deity in the temple across the
road. The set up was quite simple, with the centre stage flanked by 2 side
walls, all made of wooden planks secured to a metal frame. The puppeteers -an
old man and an old lady were seated behind the stage with a piece of canvas hanging
behind them as backdrop. The position of the stage was high enough to hide the
puppeteers. Puppets were controlled by hand and fingers movements inside the
dress of the puppets. This is different from another form of puppet show which
puppets were controlled by sticks attached to their bodies and limbs.
Today,
puppet show is a dying art. Kids no longer appreciate the show, they rather
play games on their cell phones.
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