Puppetry coming out of the shadows

Traditional art form adapts to changing circumstances and appeals to a younger audience,Shan Juan in Xi'an and Chen Nan in Beijing report.

A show that brings together the spice of modernity mixed with a good measure of ancient entertainment and marinated with a stand-up routine is always going to be a recipe for delight. This approach to 2,000-year-old puppetry has given new life to the ancient art and is appealing to a younger audience in Northwest China's Shaanxi province.

Chinese Shadow Puppetry, an experimental show, made its debut at the Xi'an Concert Hall last month, and was well received by the largely urban young audience, according to Hu Ruonan, director of the show.

The 60-minute show comprises two traditional shadow puppet plays－The Happiness of the King of Hell and Monkey King Subdues White-Skeleton Demon. These are interspersed by stand-up performances highlighting local traditional culture during the intervals.

Easy and well-known storylines have made the background opera, Wanwanqiang, a traditional dialect-based opera from Shaanxi province, easier to understand for the audience, including nonlocals. Subtitles are also available, broadcast simultaneously on screens both sides of the stage.

"I found the show to be a fun, artistic feast and quite modern," says a member of the audience surnamed Feng. The 29-year-old from Sichuan province attended with eight members of her family.

Traditionally, puppetry is mostly staged at night with the performer projecting shadows onto an illuminated white cloth, while musicians provide a dramatic soundtrack, according to Wei Jinquan, a famed local artist who performs in the show.

"For hundreds of years, the show engaging five puppeteers to manipulate the hand-carved puppets, colored red, yellow, black, white, and green, as well as provide musical accompaniment, has been popular, especially in rural areas," Wei says.

"It entertains and, more importantly, enlightens by telling stories that are easy to comprehend, especially among the rural audience."

As China rolled out massive urbanization programs, many of the traditional audience left for cities seeking better jobs.

"We had about 20 shows each month in the 1990s, which dwindled to three or four shows after 2010," he says. Decreased audience numbers and lack of exposure has left the traditional art form battling for survival.

As the show's director, Hu has joined in the effort to restore and pass on the skills and knowledge of shadow puppetry. Her team has an average age of 30.

"We know our audience and understood how to repackage the show to amuse them and, more importantly, bring life to the treasure of our traditional art," says Hu.

In the new show, the live band has been substituted by recordings with largely improved sound effects, while effects and props like huge flames, cloud-shaped screens and bright stage lights have been introduced to appeal to younger audience with more modern tastes in entertainment.

According to Hu, most of the audience are young people. "They enjoy it and can catch the 'old wit' in the show."

In Happiness of the King of Hell, the protagonist entertains the King of Hell by singing operas and, as a result, gets a longer life.

Liu Jiawei, a 12-year-old audience member, says: "The man is brave and calm, while singing operas to please the King of Hell. You never know when your expertise will help you."

For Wei, dedicated to making shadow puppet plays known and liked, he saw new hope.

"After the modern redesign, the show will reach out to a bigger audience, particularly the young. They are the future of the ancient art," says the optimistic artist.

Apart from performing, the 58-year-old also gives lectures promoting shadow puppet plays at local primary and middle schools.

Born to a local shadow puppetry family, Wei picked up the art as a teenager. With his own experience, he has seen the ups and downs of the art, and believes that with the engagement of young audiences and the artists' continuous efforts to produce modern adaptations, the traditional entertainment format will prosper again.

Contact the writers at shanjuan@chinadaily.com.cn