Vietnam Flag.
In Hanoi we booked seats for the Vietnamese show My Village (Lang Toi in Vietnamese), which is at 6 pm and lasts an hour.
Opera House & Vietnam Tuong Theatre
The show is confusingly at two venues, one of which is the Hanoi Opera House. We were looking forward to seeing the opera house. We were surprised when out taxi driver took us in another direction. Our taxi driver fortunately knew that the show as on at the Hanoi Vietnam Tuong Theatre.
So we missed out on seeing the grand Hanoi opera house, built by the French in 1911. However, instead we got to see a smaller Vietnamese-style theatre with masks on the walls.
Free Tea
The event starts with a pre-show free drink of lemon grass tea. You walk through an alcove into a side room and pour yourself your tea from an urn made of porcelain.
The theatre lobby has red pillars and masks on the walls.
Colourful pillars at 'Hanoi Vietnam Tuong Theatre'. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Masks in the lobby of the theatre. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Birdsong
We can hear birdsong recordings. The show was delightful, although it had no programme, no translation, no discernable plot.
Acrobatics And Poles
The main props are giant bamboo poles used to create x shapes which agile girls and boys climb. Feats of acrobatics. One girl must be double-jointed. She bends backwards and forwards. The most amusing moment was when she scratched her forehead with her toes, from a leg up her back!ll u
The later part of the show included some amusing juggling with three jugglers. Plus some singing.
Song of Mother's and Father's Love
Luckily we were with a friend who speaks Vietnamese. She was able to tell us later over dinner that one well-known traditional song was about a father's love being as high as Vietnam's tallest mountain. The mother's love is deep as the sea. Apparently this refrain is repeated many times.
You were not allowed to take photos during the show. but afterwards the performers came into the foyer.
Cambodia Show Plot
In Cambodia we saw a show with dancers and singers, much more colourful, with a plot, boy chases girl, girl rejects boy, rival boy courts her. he abandons her. Girl is consoled by attention of first true love. He marries her. Happy end with much joyful singing and dancing.
I can't help thinking that this whole show could be so much better.
We walked back to our hotel in the old quarter via the night market.
If you go to Hanoi, do see it. The other big show in Hanoi is the water puppets. The Lune Production group also has performances in Saigon (also now known as Ho Chi Minh city).
www.luneproduction.com
email reservation@luneproduction.com
tel:+84 1245 18 11 88
For reviews
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh_City#Museums_and_art_galleries
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g293925-d4542125-r195747380-A_O_Show_Lune_Production-Ho_Chi_Minh_City.html
For hotels
booking.com
Comparison site:
https://www.clicktripz.com/rates/search/index
For airlines
travelok.com
vietJetair.com (Comprehensive list of budget airlines in Wikivoyage.)
For transport
https://www.grab.com/vn/en/
Language
Duolingo.com
(Remember to click on the sound symbol to hear how words are pronounced.)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
Please share links to your favourite posts. I have several more on Hanoi, Halong Bay and Vietnam.
No comments:
Post a Comment