Interview by William Chan
In a recent interview with The Macau Post Daily, Macau Shadow Play Association President António M.L. Inácio and Vice President José Augusto Teixeira discussed the ancient art of shadow play at the association’s new venue in the Praia do Manduco neighbourhood.
Established in 2018, the Macau Shadow Play Association is a non-profit organisation that aims to promote and share the traditional art of shadow play across the globe. The association fosters cultural exchanges between more than 80 shadow play troupes in mainland China, 20 troupes throughout Southeast Asia and Europe, and various other troupes worldwide. The organisation has members from Macau, Portuguese-speaking countries and the Chinese mainland.
Shadow play, Inácio noted, is a form of traditional puppetry that uses two-dimensional figures, typically crafted from leather or plastic, which are manipulated by puppeteers behind a semi-transparent screen to tell stories. This art form originated in ancient China and has since spread to other parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa. The figures used in shadow play are often highly detailed, with some requiring thousands of precise cuts to create intricate designs.
Inácio, a local Macanese, was first introduced to the Beijing Shadow Puppet Troupe by a collector friend during a trip to Shenzhen in the 1990s. He soon formed a close bond with the troupe and promised to promote shadow puppetry in Macau. Now a retired Portuguese-language teacher, Inácio has kept his 20-year-old promise and is dedicating his energy to promoting the art with the help of the internet.
Inácio said, “I am not an artist. At first sight, the shadow puppets looked like a doll or toy to me. But when I looked deeper and learnt more about their cultural backgrounds, I found it to be not only an entertaining art but also an important cultural heritage built by generations of people. I promote shadow puppetry not because of my fondness for it but, more importantly, because I think they have intrinsic value to us in culture and education.”
Local governments in the mainland have begun promoting shadow play in high schools, Inácio pointed out, adding that one of the first missions for the association is to promote shadow play in local schools for young people to learn more about it. Inácio noted that many shadow play teachers he knows are concerned about finding successors to carry on the tradition. He also said that some university students approached the association to learn shadow play, but their progress was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
To address this issue, Inácio has enlisted shadow play teachers from the mainland to record a series of lessons, which will be offered free of charge to residents interested in the art. The association is currently self-financed, and Inácio hopes to raise public awareness of this art form and its traditions. He also envisions the association as a platform for cultural exchanges between different shadow play artists, aiming to invite artists from over the world to give lessons about and share knowledge of shadow play to local residents. His ultimate goal is “striving for a new chapter in Macau’s intangible cultural heritage”, hoping that shadow play could be added to Macau’s intangible cultural heritage.
At the end of the interview, Inácio shared an example of how technology has advanced shadow play. He recently received a request to curate a shadow play show in a hotel, and he was amazed when a mainland professional single-handedly performed the entire play. Pre-recorded music and audio were used, which was once unimaginable, but the performer’s skill in manoeuvring multiple puppets simultaneously was also crucial to the success of the performance.
Anyone interested in contacting the group may do so through its Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MacauShadowPlayAssociation
Macau Shadow Play Association President António M.L. Inácio (right) and Vice President José Augusto Teixeira pose next to a shadow play theatre at the association’s venue in the Praia do Manduco neighborhood earlier this month. – Photos: William Chan
This photo taken recently in the association’s venue shows a shadow play kit containing shadow play figures, story scripts, and the stage.
This photo provided by the Macau Shadow Play Association shows President Xi Jinping’s wife Peng Liyuan (centre) watching a shadow play performance single-handedly performed by an artist in Shaanxi during an APEC event.
Shadow play figures.
