In Canberra we have enjoyed the annual National Multicultural Festival over the last couple of weeks. For many people its an opportunity to relax in the late summer weather, sample a myriad of different foods from the stalls lining Garema Place, and see performances from other cultures. The Chiao Wan Jan Children Hand Puppet Troupe from Taiwan was visiting from the 11th – 13th, and I caught their last performance at Glebe Park last Sunday morning. The troupe was founded in 1988 in the Ping-Den Elementary School in Taiwan, and the puppeteers are children aged 9 to 11, who learn the traditional hand puppet theatre as an elective at the school.

Before the show I was able to meet some of the kids and their teachers, who were kind enough to show me their puppets, traditonal characters such as the Monkey King and the Dragon King of the Sea. I particularly liked the ones that held weapons or fans in one hand. They were attached inside with a spring to a rod, and when you turned the rod the puppet would swing the sword or stick. At the begining of the show, The Raiding of the Crystal Palace (from the Journey to the West) the musicians told us about their instruments, and the puppeteers showed us several tricks their puppets could do. This included running by swinging the weighted feet, and twirling, jumping and summersaulting from hand to hand! There were some great fight scenes in the play, with wild kicks and leaps; comedy; a lovely scene where a crane is grooming a dragon; and a great use of the various ‘windows’ in the booth theatre. If you get a chance to see Chiao Wan Jan Children Hand Puppet Troupe, don’t miss it!