HCM City Hát Bội Theatre will collaborate with Cultura Fish, a group of cultural researchers promoting Vietnamese culture, to launch a series of programmes this summer to promote hát bội (classical drama). Photo courtesy of the theatre

HCM CITY — The HCM City Hát Bội Theatre will collaborate with Cultura Fish, a group of cultural researchers promoting Vietnamese culture, to launch a series of shows and workshops on hát bội (classical drama) this summer.

The shows, named “Ca Biện Phấn Hành” (Appreciating the Art), will tell the history and development of hát bội, the techniques, costumes and make-up of the art and music, and their moral and cultural values.

The shows will be hosted by researcher Vương Hoài Lâm, who has done much research on traditional performing arts forms in the South, including cải lương (reformed opera) and hát bội.

The events will also feature excerpts from classical plays, such as Hồ Nguyệt Cô Hóa Cáo (Fox-Fairy Turns into Fox), and San Hậu (The Reign) performed by the theatre with explanations from Lâm.

The shows will be held every other Friday from June 14 to August 9.

Meanwhile, workshops named “Hát Bội 101” will be launched every Saturday from June 15 to August 10.

The events will offer audiences an opportunity to interact with and practise basic hát bội techniques led by professional actors from the theatre.

Hát bội developed from folk art to a royal art in the central and southern regions.

The genre consists of singing and dancing to music. Its themes include monarchist loyalty and patriotic duty.

Hát bội plays feature old words, and the characters are often made up in black and red on their faces.

The art became particularly popular in the 1990s. It was often performed at ceremonies and festivals at temples and pagodas in central and southern provinces in the 1900s such as Bình Định, Phú Yên, Vĩnh Long, Cần Thơ, Tiền Giang, and Sóc Trăng.

Both shows and workshops will begin at 7:30pm at the theatre, 125 Châu Văn Liêm Street in District 5.

Registration for both events is available at https://fb.me/e/3RWUOWQzM and https://forms.gle/63VSmt9j7SCZRMMX9. — VNS