For hundreds of years, Duong Coc Village in Dong Quang
Commune, Quoc Oai District, Ha Tay Province has engaged in agricultural
production. The villagers are assiduous farmers who work all day long in
the fields. However, few people know that they have a great passion for
the Tuong (Classical drama) art.
Having love for
Tuong
After a long and tiring day in the
fields, and when night falls, Duong Coc villagers become real artists who
perform Tuong plays. Farming and performing seem unrelated
activities but have become a routine in Duong Coc Village.
Nguyen Van Ly, Chairman of the
Tuong Club in Duong Coc Village said: “People in the village
became aware of Tuong by chance. In 1967 when the war was fiercely
gripping the country,
At that time, every evening, local
farmers flocked to watch the plays performed by the Central Tuong
Troupe. On New Year Holidays and festive occasions, it wasn’t necessary to
travel to other localities to enjoy Tuong as it was being performed
in their own village. nbsp;Their
joys doubled when they established their own Tuong Troupe and made tours to perform in
other areas in service of the mass artistic movement.
Whenever on the stage, the members of
the Tuong Troupe in
Duong
Coc
Village
put aside all
their concerns of daily life to live the character’s life.
At most national amateur theatrical
festivals, the troupe has left a great impression on Tuong lovers.
So far, the troupe has staged and performed more than 40 plays, including
classical and modern plays, such as “Trung Nu Vuong”, “Tran Quoc Toan
Leads an Army to March to the Battlefield”, “Tran Binh Trong”, “Sunshine
Reflects on Pang Poi Stream”, “Ngheu So Oc Hen”, “Love between Fish and
Water” and “A Militiawoman in an Economic Zone”. They have won hundreds of
certificates of merit and gold medals. In late 2006, the troupe was
awarded first place for the performance “Sunshine Reflects on Pang Poi
Stream” at the national Tuong amateur theatrical festival held in
Binh Dinh Province.
 The Tuong Troupe in Duong Coc Village often performs in the communal yard, the traditional stage of the village.
Headed by Nguyen Van Ly, the
Tuong Troupe in Duong Coc Village, which consists of 26
actors, actresses and instrumentalists including the couple Nguyen Bich
Hao and Nguyen Huy Thuong as the main actors, organizes meetings and
performances regularly. The families of Nguyen Ngoc Binh and Nguyen Huu
Thiet in Duong Coc Village have three generations who
have been attached to the Tuong Troupe.
The old actors, actresses and
instrumentalists of the Tuong Club in Duong Coc Village are now approaching 70 years
old. nbsp;They are worried that
the young generation will not embrace Tuong art as their
forefathers did. To help young people understand the value of this unique
traditional art, the members of the Club regularly schedule activities
that try to capture the interest of the younger generation with the hope
of keeping the Tuong Troupe thriving.
Nguyen Huy Thuong, Deputy Head of the
Club said: “To maintain the troupe’s activities, the members of the club
voluntarily contribute money to the limited budget established by the
villagers to buy accessories and technical equipment. The Cultural and
Information Department of Ha Tay Province as well as the Central
Tuong Theatre always provide the troupe with preferential financial
and artistic assistance to warm up the farmer artists’ passion for
Tuong”.
Following the tradition of their
forefathers, a number of “young buds” in Tuong singing have
sprouted in Duong Coc Village. Nguyen Kim Hue, Nguyen Van
Huong and other young talents have caught the attention of audiences at
the mass artistic festivals in Ha Tay Province as well as other areas.
They have brought a new vitality to the Tuong art of Duong Coc Village.
Story by Nguyen Tuan
Long - Photos by Hoang
Ha
Source: vietnam.vnanet.vn
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