The HCM City Hát Bội Theatre offers a free performance at the Museum of Vietnamese History in HCM City in District 1. Photo courtesy of the theatre

HCM CITY — The HCM City Hát Bội Theatre is launching several interactive activities to help audiences engage with hát bội (classical drama).

The theatre continues to collaborate with Cultura Fish, a group of cultural researchers promoting Vietnamese culture, to launch a series of shows and workshops on hát bội this summer.

The talk, named Bội Văn Cổ Tập (Understanding the Art), will be held at the Nhã Tập Hiên in District 1 on June 19. It will explore the history and development of hát bội, including its techniques, costumes, make-up, and music, and the moral and cultural values they represent.

The talk will be hosted by researcher Vương Hoài Lâm, who has conducted extensive research on traditional performing art forms in the south, including cải lương (reformed opera) and hát bội.

The organisers will invite art lovers to experience hát bội for the first time at Saigon Bar at Caravelle Saigon Hotel on June 20.

Nguyễn Thanh Bình of the theatre said that, along with the weekly show, the troupe has organised activities to increase audience engagement and promote hát bội.

A photo session with artists from the theatre. Photo courtesy of the theatre

The theatre is hosting workshops with artists to learn about the art, including how artists prepare for a performance and how they apply makeup and dress in costume.

The programme began in May with support from photographer Khánh Phan, who won the Grand Prize at the SkyPixel Eighth Annual Photo & Video Contest in 2023, which features amazing aerial photos and drone videos from around the world.

Khánh said she wanted to contribute to promoting Vietnamese traditional performing arts to the world through photography after she had the chance to watch the artists' makeup tutorials and performances at the Marshall Lê Văn Duyệt Mausoleum in Bình Thạnh District in 2024.

She added that the art's beauty of costumes and makeup conveyed emotions to audiences and inspired photographers.

The workshop has attracted numerous art lovers, tourists and both local and international artists.

In addition, the theatre has offered free performances at the Marshall Lê Văn Duyệt Mausoleum, the Museum of Vietnamese History in HCM City, and the Nguyễn Văn Bình Book Street in District 1, which have received a warm welcome from local people and international visitors.

The performances include excerpts from classical plays, such as Hồ Nguyệt Cô Hoá Cáo (Fox-Fairy Turns into Fox), and San Hậu (The Reign), performed by the theatre with explanations from Lâm.

Hát bội developed from a 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 characters often wear black-and-red facial make-up. 

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. — VNS