Curtain comes down on shadow play troupe

Dying craft: Puppet artists displaying some of their shadow puppets at the Sovana Phum Theatre in Phnom Penh. — Reuters

The country’s shadow puppet tradition goes back to the seventh century and has survived the collapse of empires, wars and the Khmer Rouge reign of terror that left some 1.7 million people dead.

In recent years, however, local interest in the art that was designated a Unesco intangible cultural heritage in 2005 has dwindled, with foreign tourists and funding becoming its main supporters.