Mandalay hosts international marionette festival

UNDER the supervision of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Goethe Institute in Yangon and the Myanmar Marionette Association, the Myanmar Upper Land tour company organised the Myanmar and International Marionette Drama Troupe Festival in Mandalay from 2 to 3 April.

Members of the public attended the festival free of charge.

The festival aimed to revive Myanmar marionette drama troupes and to preserve, upgrade and propagate Myanmar marionette arts. The organisers also sought to promote relations between Myanmar marionette artists with other artists around the world. 

During the festival, marionette troupes based in Yangon, Indonesia, Mandalay and Thai performed with a Myanmar traditional orchestra. Students entertained the public with Myanmar indigenous puppetry and modern marionettes created by U Ye Dway.—Tin Maung