Water puppetry was invented around 1,000 years ago by farmers in the rice fields of northern Vietnam. When the fields were flooded between harvests, they used the shallow water as a stage and carved puppets to entertain the village. The art has been passed down ever since.
Each puppet is carved from a kind of light wood called fig wood, which floats well, then painted in bright colours and given a shiny coat of lacquer. The puppets are surprisingly heavy - some weigh as much as a small child - but the water holds them up so the puppeteer can swirl them about with just a long pole.
The stories are usually about village life: farmers planting rice, fishermen catching fish, dragons dancing, frogs and ducks playing tricks on each other. A small orchestra sits at the side, playing bamboo flutes, drums and stringed instruments. Sometimes the musicians also speak the puppets' words.
Behind the painted screen, the puppeteers work in the water for the whole show, sometimes more than an hour. After centuries of using cold pond water, modern theatres now warm the water gently so the performers can stay comfortable. The audience never sees them - only the dancing puppets and a pond that seems alive.