Read Huu Chau - The Golden Cradle of Storms: The Bitter and Glorious Stage Career

Artist Huu Chau in the play House in the Clouds.

“The stage career is truly bitter” - that is part of the memoir from Meritorious Artist Huu Chau (full name Nguyen Huu Chau, born in 1966) in the book Huu Chau - The Golden Cradle of Storms (page 192), written by author Thanh Thuy, published by Dan Tri Publishing House and Phan Books.

A life on stage

The portrait memoir Huu Chau - The Golden Cradle of Storms recreates the memories of a famous artistic family, the life of a "family-born" artist who soon revealed his talent and excellent acting ability. Artist Huu Chau is a member of the once-famous Thanh Minh Thanh Nga Cai Luong Troupe family (his grandmother is Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tho, the owner of Thanh Minh troupe) - despite many ups and downs, it is his "happy family".

As a descendant of many "legendary artists of Saigon" (his parents are artists Huu Thinh - Thanh Le), Huu Chau also became an outstanding comedian with thousands of versatile roles "single-handedly handling both tragedy and comedy" in many stage plays, famous works that are very much admired by audiences.

The book's special appeal comes from the stories that only a close family member, a veteran insider like Huu Chau can tell in a sincere, honest, and intimate autobiographical style. The writing style of writer Thanh Thuy interweaves and blends sweetly with Huu Chau's memories to create a duet "sparkling like a golden chicken dream". There is not only the warm cradle of childhood for the rich young man, but also the vast, harsh, and bare life that has molded for the public an artist Huu Chau like a "multi-colored gem".

Huu Chau stood on stage when he was only 3 years old. He joined the Kim Cuong Drama Group in the late 1980s with his first role in the play The Prince and the Shepherd's Daughter. He had many roles in reformed operas and dramas such as: The Durian Leaf, The Lover Late for the Bus, In the Name of Justice, Conspiracy and Love, Don't Say Goodbye, A Heroic Life, Thunderstorm, The Scholar, Three Stages and Four Appearances, Living and Dying, Da Co Hoai Lang, nearly 40 roles in the series Once Upon a Time lasting 23 years...

Light the fire of passion Huu

Chau writes very truthfully about the ups and downs of the family theater troupe, the time when the livelihood was "spinning around and around", the "heavenly pain" of separation and death of relatives. Many pages of memories are very emotional, such as the years when Cai Luong was on the decline, Huu Chau remembers his parents wandering to Long Khanh ( Dong Nai ) to buy corn from the fields to peel and cook for sale in the city. The whole family, including his grandmother (producer Tho), also rolled up their sleeves to work with their children and grandchildren. Then the two brothers: Huu Chau and Huu Loc went to sell newspapers from 4am every day to help their mother - the once famous beautiful actress Thanh Le, who had a period of working for hire, working hard to sell coffee, sometimes profitable, sometimes unprofitable...

Huu Chau respected Miss Hai Kim Cuong (the famous actress Kim Cuong) who paid Huu Chau a "skyrocketing" salary, making his life a dream come true. He wrote about the gentle and funny "Uncle Sau Bao Quoc". Huu Chau's close friends and colleagues were recreated, from artist Hong Dao, the "treasurer" who kept the salary for him, Huu Nghia - a good classmate who teamed up with Huu Chau to become a "perfect couple" on the comedy stage, to Hong Van, Kim Xuan, Chi Hieu, Hong Loan, Huu Loc's younger brother... And of course, artist Thanh Loc is indispensable (Huu Chau has been working at Thien Dang Drama Stage with Thanh Loc since July 2023 until now).

Many theater students congratulate Huu Chau on his book launch.

Until now, Huu Chau has devoted himself to acting in all fields he has participated in, from the stage to many movies shown in theaters. Through many ups and downs, at the age of 59, Huu Chau admitted: “From being competitive and sometimes hot-tempered, I have become calm and gentle. Gentle until I know I am small.”

He revealed that he was greatly influenced and impacted when he played the role of Nguyen Trai in the play The Secret of the Le Chi Garden (with 150 performances in 12 years). Interestingly, the warm house where Huu Chau has lived for a long time is also located on the street named after Nguyen Trai in Ho Chi Minh City.

Happily admitting that he is in his “late afternoon” age (page 242), Huu Chau is currently a lecturer for many acting training academies with the passion to pass on the artistic passion to the next generation. Many generations of young actors and stage stars are Huu Chau’s students, and he has given them wings to fly their dreams to the sky of art. Huu Chau’s concept of passing on the profession, knowledge and the good heart in his mission to do the job is: “Please do your best, pave the way for the next generation”.

Huu Chau shared that the book Huu Chau - The Golden Cradle of Storms is "a humble gift offered to the ancestral altar and the grave of Ma Ba". "Ma Ba" is the affectionate name that Huu Chau and many other descendants call Miss Thanh Nga - the beautiful family member of the whole family that makes him proud, the "childhood fairy" who started "my life story". The talented artist Thanh Nga passed away when Huu Chau was just over 10 years old, but still left him a great gift of his career destiny and "the immense happiness of everyday life" (page 87). Huu Chau copied the poem that the audience admired about Thanh Nga: "In the sky there are thousands of stars/In the world there is only one Thanh Nga" and exclaimed: "I love Thanh Nga - my forever great love".

Loyalty

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/dong-nai-cuoi-tuan/202507/doc-huu-chau-chiec-noi-vang-giong-bao-nghiep-doi-san-khau-cay-dang-va-vinh-quang-3961d83/