2026 Kaohsiung International Puppet Show Festival kicks off, 12 top troupes from 6 countries perform cross-border performances

Yongxingle Shadow Puppet Troupe and Indispensable Theater's "Gorilla Can't Find the Sound" showcases the new creativity of traditional shadow puppets and modern theater. (Provided by Gao Shibo)

[Reporter Huang Jialin/Kaohsiung Report] The "2026 Kaohsiung International Puppetry Festival" grandly opened today (17th) at the Kaohsiung City Shadow Puppet Theater. This event focuses on cross-border exchanges and brings together 12 top teams from six countries, including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Turkey, to bring a nine-day international puppetry feast.

Chien Meiling, deputy director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, said that Kaohsiung is the only city in the country that has the three major puppet theater cultures of shadow puppetry, puppetry and puppetry. With the support of the Ministry of Culture, this year's Puppet Show Festival returns to Okayama for the first time in 10 years, and 12 professional teams from 6 countries including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Turkey are invited to participate in the event.

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The Puppet Puppet Theater Company presents the opening performance, with endless possibilities for puppets and objects. (Provided by Gao Shibo)

At the opening ceremony, the Taiwan Puppet Troupe presented a wonderful short play, showing the vivid imagination of puppets becoming one. The local Yongxingle Shadow Puppet Troupe collaborated with Chiayi Indispensable Theater to perform "Gorilla Can't Find the Sound". The South Korean team EUMMA presented a traditional interactive performance that combined folk customs and mask dance. The "Children's Magic Academy" Puppetry Market was simultaneously launched at Tesco Plaza in Okayama, attracting children of all ages to experience the costume parade and puppet production.

In addition to the exciting weekend ticket sales performances, the Kaohsiung City Shadow Puppet Theater will simultaneously launch "Following the Puppetry - World Puppet Collection Exhibition" on the 4th floor, leading the audience to explore the puppet culture of different regions; an international forum will also be held on the 21st to exchange innovative experiences. During the event, people can enjoy discounts from local merchants in Okayama with show ticket stubs, and can redeem limited edition gifts by completing stamp collection tasks at the Shadow Puppet Theater.

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