LookAtVietnam – “Vietnamese tour operators should take tourists to sites of traditional art performances such as tuong (Vietnamese classical drama) together with splendid landscapes in older that foreign tourists can know more about Vietnamese culture and arts.

Foreign tourists join a game of studying tuong at an art talk show at Hong Ha theater. (Photo: SGT)

Tuong focuses on the spirit and includes strict rules on speaking, singing and dancing. Tuong also uses a form of synecdoche (figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole) with the actors substituting gestures for words. Viewers use their imagination to go from a stick to a horse, from a paddle to a boat. Mountains, hills, rivers, dawn, twilight, horse riding and battlefields are all presented on stage by using a minimum of accessories and technical equipment.

Developing tuong as a national tourist product

Tuong is worthy to become a typical tourist product for foreigners to understand more about the country.

The Vietnam Tuong Theater in Hanoi presents tuong plays at Hong Ha theater at 5pm every Wednesday and Thursday. Attendance is modest, so the theater is making DVDs to promote the art more widely, said artist Hoang Khiem, director of the theater.

VietNamNet/SGT