Shadow puppetry: revitalising ancient arts

In Shanxi Province, shadow play and puppet shows enjoy a history of thousands of years. Many people here also feel concerned about whether these traditions can survive, but one young group are reimagining the art forms and winning critical acclaim in the process.

This is a fire-breathing show of puppets manipulated by wooden rods. With a mouth that moves and eyes that blink, this puppet can even perform the art of Sichuan Opera Face Changing. The shadow play is also fluorescent, a modern variation on an ancient artform.

These shows are all performed by a young troupe in Xiaoyi, a city in northern China's Shanxi Province. The troupe was founded in 2010, thanks to investment from a local coal enterprise. It has fifteen actors and five teachers, and the average age of the actors is only about 22. Because of its distinctive style, the troupe has been on a non-stop national tour.

Li Shuying, teacher of Shanxi Xiaoxing Troupe, said, "We not only perform shadow plays, we also have puppet shows. We believe a variety of shows will better engage the audience. While maintaining local characteristics, we also learn the latest things from other troupes across the country."

Talking about the young actors, Li says they may actually be better than the older artists.

Li Shuying said, "They have learned a lot through the internet. They accept new things quickly and make rapid progress. They also learn from movies and can often be creative in performances. I think they are more meticulous and closer to life than older artists."

This puppet is the famous Monkey King. It weighs about 3.5 kilograms. And it's the lightest one among the puppets here. There is a control lever inside it. So when I pull it, it'll be like this.

The heaviest puppet in the troupe weighs about 10 kilograms. Holding up such a heavy puppet during a show is not as easy as it looks. And in order to make the body movements look good, these young puppeteers train every day early in the morning.

Zhang Rong, performer of Shanxi Xiaoxing Troupe, said, "The performance of a puppet depends on the one who operates it. If you can't do it, neither can the puppet. So we must have solid skills, or the puppets won't look vivid."

The troupe put on more than one hundred shows nationwide in 2012. Half of them were by invitation from local governments. Nevertheless, the head of the troupe says they still face financial pressure, as more sophisticated equipment is needed to improve their performances.