Parents around the capital seeking entertainment options for young children over the next several weeks could do a lot worse than check out Puppet Theater PUK, where old and new stories will come to life in the hands of seasoned puppeteers.
For this season, PUK — which rhymes with "spook" — will feature two short puppet plays from April to June: "Tora no Komoriuta" ("The Tiger's Lullaby") and "Nezumi-kun no Chokki" ("Little Mouse's Red Vest"). Though the program is in Japanese, this needn't be an issue as the stories are simple and colorful enough for anyone to enjoy. And with each performance running about 15 minutes, the length is just right for a child audience.
Directed by Yoshihiko Shibasaki, "The Tiger's Lullaby," whose first production was in 1964, is the story of an aging tiger who has spent his life playing piano in the circus. Now retired, he wants nothing more than a quiet life in the forest with his animal friends and an old piano — but his peaceful existence is interrupted by ghosts living there.