Portrait Notes by Huu Chau: From a Pampered Young Master to Secrets Behind the Velvet Curtain

Hữu Châu - Ảnh 1. — Portrait of Huu Chau - The stormy golden cradle - Photo: Publishing House

According to information from the publishing unit, at 9am on June 28, artist Huu Chau will have a meeting and launch the book Huu Chau - The Golden Cradle of Storms at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street. Here, he will share about the journey of making the book, along with behind-the-scenes stories that have never been revealed in the press.

In addition, Huu Chau is scheduled to have two other sharing sessions. One session at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City, scheduled for July 12, will be about his journey of keeping and passing on the flame of art to the younger generation of actors.

Another session in a more cozy space, where he will pay tribute to those who have made Huu Chau what he is today.

There are two Huu Chau people in the book.

Huu Chau's memoir - The Golden Cradle of Storms (as the author calls it, there is no clear boundary between memoirs and essays) focuses on the portrait of artist Huu Chau, 20 years before his birth with the formation of the Thanh Minh - Thanh Nga Cai Luong Troupe.

Portrait of artist Huu Chau from a young age, was a spoiled, mischievous "young master" in his grandmother's theater troupe. Then when he was over 10 years old, a major family incident occurred, he lost his mother Ba, his beloved aunt, the queen of the stage Thanh Nga.

Therefore, this memoir clearly shows two people in him - an innocent and mischievous Huu Chau and a Huu Chau who has experienced life with the loss of loved ones and material possessions.

The continuity of art runs through his family like a red thread, from amateur music (artist Nam Nghia) to reformed opera (artist Thanh Nga) and drama (artist Huu Chau), three unique art forms of the South.

With his writing style of whispering and then going directly into the pain and little joy, the portrait of artist Huu Chau gradually reveals, not only "things that everyone knows", but also the differences and secrets behind the velvet curtain.

The book will also describe in detail why and what conditions led to Huu Chau becoming who he is today. How did he learn in school, vocational school and life? In some places, the author also compares the stage of reformed opera and the stage of spoken drama. These are probably things that the next generation, the juniors of the acting profession, are very interested in.