A Puppet Show with a Difference

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Following the monkies' first free arts performance in the heartlands 3 Sundays ago, we were at Hougang Central on yet another Sunday for a rather unique arts performance.

The performance was part of an initiative of National Arts Council under its Arts for All umbrella. Under this initiative, the Arts in Your Neighbourhood programme features a series of free and enjoyable arts activities to promote self-expression, creativity and bonding through the arts by bringing it where people live, work and play.

And from the looks of the crowd that gathered, it clearly worked.

The A.I.D. (Angels in Disguise) was presented by The Finger Players and was essentially a puppet show that involved three puppet characters - a young girl, a conceited man and an Ah Ma.

The audience was taken along a journey of these three characters who looked beyond their physical and mental disadvantages to help those around them, building up values of self-confidence, compassion and teamwork.

Meaningful messages, you say? I certainly thought so too. In fact, the boys were expecting the show to be a boring one but it turned out they thoroughly enjoyed it.

To make the show even more unique, it was performed in English, Mandarin and Hokkien!

But I guess the best moments were those when the audience had a chance to interact and hug the puppet after the show.

It is amazing to see how one simple puppet can evoke such happiness among the audience, young and old.

I believe the above photos should suffice, no?

But if we thought the show was over, we were wrong.

The second half of the show presented certain members of the audience the opportunity to learn some puppeteer work and as you can see, Ayd was more than eager to be up on stage!

Judging from the looks of the kids on and off stage, it was a performance that struck a chord with everyone. The bad news is though, the Arts In Your Neighbourhood performances have officially come to an end.

But the GOOD NEWS is, it will be back at the end of this year with new performances - right at your heartland doorstep! So do look out for a myriad of Dance, Music, Visual Arts and Theatre performances, in addition to many other exciting arts programmes in your neighbourhood this November!

Follow Arts For All's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/artsforall.sg and instagram account (@artsforallsg) to stay updated on the latest happenings of upcoming events and shows!