BY BENITA ZHANG, KELLY YANG
The 60-year-old man stood in a small room crowded with dozens of puppets. His fingers were twisted with strings linking to a drunken Zhong Kui, a puppet of Chinese deity from mythology. With a series of movements by him, the little puppet pulled out its sward promptly.
Wong Fai, the co-founder of the Hong Kong Puppet and Shadow Art Centre, is one of the few master puppeteers in Hong Kong. After devoting most of his life to puppetry, he said the future of the industry in Hong Kong is pessimistic, mostly because of economic problems.
Puppetry used to be popular in Hong Kong, especially between the mid-70s and 80s, which can be seen as the golden age for puppeteers. However, it went down dramatically and reached its bottom in the 90s. “This is a sunset industry,” Wong said.
However, Wong hasn’t given up yet. He tries his best to meet the market requirement by making innovations, like creating new performance as well as being closer to the audience.
“I hope puppetry can survive in Hong Kong,” Wong said.
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Benita Zhang 