Marionette Stage

The advent of the Yoke Thay or the marionette or puppet show is ascribed to the latter half of the 18th Century and the origin to U Thaw. Minister for Royal Entertainment at the Court of King Singu. In the case of the Burmese marionette stage, the origin is unknown. The marionette stage as it emerged in Burma, with full-dress and complete plays is something really Burmese. The Yoke Thay , not only came before the Burmese zat (drama), but has also had a place of precedence in the Burmese heart.

The remarkable thing about a Burmese marionette show is that it is combination of skills, as perfect as they only can make it, of the wood-carver (major figures are of wood), the string manipulator, the elocutionist, the singer and the musicians.