
The shadow puppet play, states Banham, probably came into vogue in the Middle East after the Mongol invasions and thereafter it incorporated local innovations by the 16th century. Īccording to Martin Banham, there is little mention of indigenous theatrical activity in the Middle East between the 3rd century CE and the 13th century, including the centuries that followed the Islamic conquest of the region. The most significant historical centers of shadow play theatre have been China, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The evidence of shadow puppet theatre is found in both old Chinese and Indian texts. The puppets are held close to the screen and lit from behind, while hands and arms are manipulated with attached canes and lower legs swinging freely from the knee. These are performed behind a thin screen with flat, jointed puppets made of colorfully painted transparent leather. By at least around 200 BCE, the figures on cloth seem to have been replaced with puppetry in Indian tholu bommalata shows. Shadow puppet theatre likely originated in Central Asia-China or in India in the 1st millennium BCE. As the shows were mostly performed at night the par was illuminated with an oil lamp or candles. Shadow play probably developed from "par" shows with narrative scenes painted on a large cloth and the story further related through song. It is also known in Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Greece, Germany, France, and the United States. It has been an ancient art and a living folk tradition in China, India, Iran and Nepal. Shadow play is an old tradition and it has a long history in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia. More than 20 countries are known to have shadow show troupes. Shadow play is popular in various cultures, among both children and adults in many countries around the world. There are four different types of performances in shadow play: the actors using their bodies as shadows, puppets where the actors hold them as shadows in the daytime, spatial viewing, and viewing the shadows from both sides of the screen.

A talented puppeteer can make the figures appear to walk, dance, fight, nod and laugh. Various effects can be achieved by moving both the puppets and the light source. The cut-out shapes of the puppets sometimes include translucent color or other types of detailing. Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. A performance of wayang, an Indonesian shadow puppet form For other uses, see Shadow puppets (disambiguation). Now, there are efforts to revive the ancient art form and make it more appealing to modern audiences."Shadow puppets" redirects here. Many puppeteers are too old to continue performing and younger generations are more interested in TV, movies and video games. Nowadays, shadow puppetry in China is an endangered art form. The puppeteer must learn to master the control the rods and give life to the puppets through voice and music.

Puppets are painstakingly carved from leather, painted, and attached to rods. The art of Chinese shadow puppetry takes years to master. This form of entertainment spread throughout China, Southeast Asia, India and later, Europe. It became very popular with roving entertainers who moved from village to village putting on shows and telling the stories of days past, myths and heroic warriors. They adorned her with clothes by painting them on leather and, using an oil lamp, made her shadow move as if she still breathed.Ĭhinese shadow puppetry developed alongside opera and shares many of the same characteristics, including songs, stories and aesthetics. The officials made a model of his mistress out of donkey leather with jointed arms and legs.

Legend has it that shadow puppetry came about when Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty (BC 206-AD 220), devastated by the death of his mistress, ordered his court officials to bring her back to life.
