Research residency in July on the “Potehi in motion”

Transmission, Pedagogy and Contemporary Puppetry

This research residency brings together puppeteer and researcher Hsu Chia-fen (Taiwan) and master puppeteer Yeung Faï (France/Hong Kong), from 6 to 17 July, to explore Potehi as a living system of transmission, pedagogy and artistic creation.

Rather than focusing solely on repertoire or performance, the project investigates how knowledge is transmitted across generations, schools, theatres and cultural contexts. At the centre of the research is Yeung Faï’s pedagogical practice, which emerged from a unique trajectory linking family-based transmission, professional training in China, and more than three decades of artistic work in Europe.

Yeung Faï – Puppeteer, Teacher, Master of Chinese glove puppetry

Now recognised as one of the leading contemporary masters of Chinese glove puppetry, he has spent more than thirty years developing a unique artistic approach centred on the hand as a dramatic space. His work combines technical virtuosity, contemporary expressiveness and a commitment to passing on the art form.

His productions, including Scenes of the Beijing Opera and Hand Stories (premiered in 2010), tour internationally and reflect a creative journey that is both personal and universal. In France, he has also collaborated with director Grégoire Callies on several productions, including La neige au milieu de l’été, Don Quichotte and Odyssée 1-2-3, as a performer, director and puppet maker.

A renowned teacher, Yeung Faï shares his expertise at numerous drama schools in France and abroad. In particular, he teaches at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette (ESNAM), where he worked with the 9th class between 2011 and 2014, and again in 2025 with the 14th class. His teaching method is based on precision of gesture, the musicality of movement, verbal and physical expression, as well as the puppet’s ability to become a true extension of the human body.