Cheo, a popular traditional music performance - Cheo, a popular traditional music performance

Cheo performance

When did the Cheo appear?

Cheo is believed to have originated in the 11th century, and has its roots in village festivals in the Red River Delta.

Aftercrops harvest, the farmers hold the festivals which include a series ofactivities such as plays, Cheo singing, etc. to exchange theinformation as well as to make new relationships. Since then, manynational Cheo repertoires which are considered treasures of thetraditional stage are created, expamples are Truong Vien, Kim Nhan, Luu Binh - Duong Le and Quan Am Thi Kinh…

Performance

Likemany ancient performance arts, Cheo is an oral one with storiescomposed by anonymous author-performers and orally “passed on” tofellow performers. In this folk art performance, stories which can belegends, poetry, history or even daily life are the most important,“whenever there are stories, we have Cheo”.

Also,brought into the play are acrobatic scenes and magic. Cheo tells talesof chiefs, heroes and lovely maidens and offers an eclectic mix ofromance, tragedy and comedy. These stories are performed by folk songswith pantomime, instrumental music and dances, combined withinstructive or interpretative sketches.

Beside the stories, the characters are the soul of a play. Like Tuong, Cheo

Cheo buffoon

usesstandard stock characters -usually a hero, a heroine and a clown- whoare instantly recognizable to the audience. Cheo stories may sometimesbe romantic or tragic but the clown or buffoon always comment on theaction in an amusing or satirical way as well as to mock pompous,ridiculous or dishonest characters. Providing a link between theperformers and the audience, he shoots shafts of satire at evil-doers,such as ignorant witchdoctors, greedy landlords, or arrogant mandarins.A couple of buffoons may appear on stage, for instance, the master in aflowing gown and his servant in a short coat and carrying a stick, eachspeaking the language and behaving in the ways of his class. Thebuffoon might perform right at the initial scene of a play, carrying atorch or a megaphone and provoking wild laughter of the audience. Theclowns present a comic portrayal of social life, with ridiculous,satirical words and gestures, and reduce the audience to tears oflaughter.

ACheo play can not be complete without stage. The play could be put onthe stage of a large theatre, but also be performed successfully on oneor two bed mats spread in the middle of a communal house. The Cheo drumwas traditionally used like a church bell with magical sounds. Uponhearing, villagers cannot resist coming to see the play. The costumes,make-up and gestures are very simple and base on each character of theplay.

Atpresent, Cheo is an integral part of Vietnamese theatre and attract notonly people in the countryside and in towns but the foreign spectatorsas well.