From left: U Sein Aye Myint, U Maung Kyi, Ma Thandar Htay and U Sein Tun Kyi. Pic:Hein Latt Aung

THE art of marionettes is slowly regaining its prominence in Yangon with the help of a small group of people striving to maintain the traditional form of entertainment.

With audience numbers dwindling and the tourist dollar as low as it has ever been, two of the industry’s top theatres are working harder than ever to restore its popularity.

One of these is a company that prides itself on being the only one in Myanmar that presents the art form exactly as it was over 100 years ago. Theirs is the only show that takes up to eight hours to present.

“This is the only show you will find in Myanmar that stays true to the art of traditional marionettes,” said U Sein Tun Kyi, head of Shwe Yadanar Myaing and retired teacher of the Ministry of Culture. “Although it’s not as popular anymore and we face severe losses at times, our primary focus is on maintaining traditional puppetry and making sure that the art will not die out.”

His competition in Yangon is the puppet theatre group Htwe Oo Myanmar, whose shows differ to U Sein Tun Kyi’s only in the length of their performances and target audience —tourists.

“These days there are very few marionette theatres around that are up to professional standards,” said U Khin Maung Htwe, manager of Htwe Oo Myanmar. “One of our main aims is to promote the art by filling the seats and increasing tourist numbers. You have to persuade people to see your show. If the tourism industry can see how valuable our art is, then the performances will regain their popularity.”

Htwe Oo Myanmar also holds regular workshops for those who want to learn the art.

Both businesses have suffered in recent years due to the lack of tourists in their audiences. U Khin Maung Htwe believes this is because of competition from marionette theatres in Mandalay and Bagan.

“Most foreigners think that the professional theatres and best shows are only found in upper Myanmar, around the tourist spots,” he said. “We want to let people know that Yangon is where the art originally emerged and where most of the professionals come from.

“We are proud of our work and we need support from travel agencies to boost our trade.”

Myanmar marionettes have been around since the 1400s. The shows were popular right up until the early 19th Century and since then have slowly begun to disappear.

There are currently around 80 puppet characters used in shows nationally, of which 28 are recognised by all marionette artists.

Htwe Oo Myanmar showcases all 80 characters.

They hold hour-long shows at 1pm, 3pm and 5pm every day and employ 10 people, 5 of whom are professional puppeteers. Each of these five has won at least one gold medal in traditional puppet competitions.

U Sein Tun Kyi is currently judging one of these competitions – the Myanmar Ministry of Culture’s annual Arts Competition. He also hosts workshops at his home in Thakayta township and performs about 30 shows a year at festivals and fun fairs. He employs 40 people at any given time.

“Many Myanmar people have never seen a live puppet show and performances at festivals are extremely rare,” said U Khin Maung Htwe of U Sein Tun Kyi’s dedication. “They are sometimes found at Buddhist festivals where the shows are performed to honour tradition.”

U Sein Tun Kyi became a monk at the age of 7 and it was around this age that he started making mud sculptures. He later moved onto wood and became interested in puppets. In 1965, he was selected to work at the Ministry of Culture to train students in art of making marionettes.

Since then, he has performed 15 shows overseas and has been awarded a Universal Championship cup in puppetry from England.

U Sein Tun Kyi said very little has changed in the shows since his hey day.

“The only differences are in the duration and decoration. Other theatres perform for two hours at a stretch. Only our group performs for the full eight hours. There used to be rules for decoration — you could only use certain things. The rules are largely ignored these days. There are also some poems that are recited during the performance to make it less boring.”

His company performs puppet shows during February and March and this year, he said, the numbers were encouraging.

He hopes that through promoting the art with locals and tourists, next year will be even better.

Htwe Oo Myanmar:

FJV Commercial Centre, Strand Road, Botahtaung township.

 

Shwe Yadanar Myaing:

1276 Aung Thukha 26 Street, Ward 6, Thakayta township