Nam Thau shows off a tuong dress that took him a week to finish

One man’s do-it-yourself attitude has helped keep a venerable tradition alive.

His passion for the traditional opera form is obvious.

“I considered quitting a few times but found myself unable to stop singing. It’s in my blood. My problems melt away when I’m on the stage,” Thau said.

“I’m getting old now but my love of tuong remains as strong as ever. I’ll go immediately whenever a troupe asks me to go on tour with them, which is usually for two weeks.”

Tuong, also known as hat boi or hat bo, first appeared in Vietnam in the 14^th century.

It was inspired by traditional Chinese opera and took its tales from Chinese and Vietnamese history, mythology and folklore.

Tuong is noted for its highly stylized dancing, distinct make-up and ornate costumes.

A performance consists of spoken words, singing and pantomime set to a score of traditional court music.

The audience can always tell whether a character is a hero or a villain and can even decipher their social class by looking at their face and outfit.

A gentleman normally wears a three-tuft, bushy beard while an evil man sports a black, curly beard.

A goatee or mustache and extravagant clothes indicate the wearer is cunning and dishonest. Beardless males are students.

Thau related how he got into making tuong costumes nearly three decades ago.

“Back then the artists were paid a pittance and could only afford two or three stage costumes at most. The price of a new one in Ho Chi Minh City was exorbitant,” Thau said.

On stage, he would often hear whispers from the audience that the actors’ costumes looked plain and threadbare.

“Many actors had to wear sneakers even when they were playing emperors. How sad!” Thau said.

A pair of proper shoes would set an actor back VND500,000 (US$28 at current rate) at least, and that was a big sum at the time.

“After nearly 10 years as an actor, I decided to make my own costumes,” Thau said.

It was easier said than done. In the early days of tailoring, half-finished and faulty costumes piled up in his house. “My wife and I were worried having to discard so many costumes.”

But he was undaunted and eventually got it right.

Thau keeps his prices down so that all tuong artists can afford them. “We only make a small profit,” he said.

One month ago, a young hat boi artist from a traveling theater near Thau’s home in Vinh Long came to buy a pair of stage shoes as his own were wet and he had a show that evening.

He only had VND100,000 on him, but the cheapest shoes in the shop were VND300,000.

“I could see that he was dedicated to the art, which isn’t as thriving as it used to be. I agreed to accept VND100,000 and told him to pay me the money later,” Thau said.

“Making tuong costumes isn’t just a way to earn some money. I see it as my contribution to save a dying art,” he said.

For 29 years now, Thau has dressed tuong troupes throughout the Mekong Delta and beyond.

His work is time-consuming and painstaking. “Royal costumes in particular take a lot of research to make them as authentic as possible.”

That’s just for starters. Then comes the intricate task of embroidering the decorative patterns, something that must be done with meticulous care or the work has to be redone from scratch.

Color coordination is extremely important. “The colors need to harmonize so that the clothes accentuate the actors.”

He showed us an old stage curtain with exquisitely embroidered phoenixes and dragons that had taken him six months to make.

“It’s not easy to create dragons and phoenixes from kim sa (a metallic or rubber-based glitter). I learned how at several places in HCMC. Just putting on the kim sa takes around a week,” he said.

Thau was born Vo Cong Khanh in 1955 into an artistic family in Vinh Long, and began learning tuong in his teens.

He left home to join a traveling theater, the first of many in a long stage career that has taken him to most parts of the Mekong Delta and farther afield, including a period in HCMC.

These days he works for the Vinh Long Art and Literature Association.

Reported by Diem Thu