St James Cavalier

In China, shadow puppet theatre was a form of popular entertainment in busy night markets, where crowds of merchants, peasants and travellers would gather to see performances based on myths, local legends and religious parables.

The puppets themselves are intricately carved and vividly painted with a style that evolved from the traditional Chinese art of paper-cutting. Each region of China has a distinct style, identified by the intricacy of the cut designs and the size of the puppets.

An interesting feature of Chinese puppetry was the colouring of the puppets. Viewers knew which characters were good or bad by the colours used. Red, white, gold, black, or blue face colours represented the puppet's state of mind and emotions. A figure might be displayed at different times during the show in different coloured faces to exaggerate his emotions.

Made of leather and worked by means of three or four rods, Chinese puppets were used to portray the history and folklore of the people. These were classic tales about emperors, heroes, enemies, battles, women and lovers. St James Cavalier and the China Cultural Centre are proud to present an extensive display of these amazing shadow puppets in the main hall of St James.

The exhibition offers over 40 examples of these beautiful pieces, each one a perfectly handcrafted piece.

The exhibition is just a taster of a number of exciting events which will take place in February as part of our celebrations of the Chinese New Year. These activities will include a live performance of shadow puppetry brought over from China for the occasion.

In the meantime, as a foretaste to this wonderfully magic show, the exhibition also includes a short video recording of a shadow puppet show which will play continuously throughout the exhibition.

The exhibition is open daily from 10.00am to 9.00 pm. Entrance is

free.