During performances in France from December 26-30, Vietnamese local puppet artists depicted characters from Andersen fairy tales at the Claude Lévi-Strauss theatre on the campus of Paris-based Quai Branly Museum.

The event was part of celebrations of the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-France diplomatic ties and the 2014 Vietnam Year in France.

Vietnamese artists performed “Chú lính chì dũng cảm” (The Steadfast Tin Soldier), “Vịt con xấu xí” (The Ugly Duckling), and “Nàng tiên cá” (Little Mermaid) fairy tales of Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen.

The puppet show was the result of a three-year art cooperation project between the Vietnam Water Puppetry Theatre and the France Interarts Riviera SA.

Director of France Interarts Riviera SA, Jean-Luc Larguier, who first took Vietnamese water puppetry abroad in 1980, said overseas performances have gave a boost to the development of Vietnam traditional puppetry art.

Other puppet shows are set to be on stage in France and other European countries in 2014 and 2015, he added.