- Shadow Play
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Shadow Play
Shadow play is a form of traditional art in Damascus, Syria. It consists of hand-made puppets moving behind a thin translucent curtain or screen inside a dark theatre, making their shadows that stand out to the viewers.
These puppets are used in a theatrical performance that includes a narration of a scenario with light music. Shadow plays revolve around criticizing society in a humorous and satirical way in the form of a dialogue between the two main characters in the show.
The shows are usually held in popular cafes. Today, a combination of various factors such as modern technologies and mass displacements caused by wars have negatively affected the sustainability of shadow theaters over the past years.
Shadow Play was inscribed in 2018 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Syria.
by Sailko, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commonsby Sailko, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commonsby Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsShadow Play
Date of Inscription
2018
- See also in Syria
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