‘Súy Vân Feigns Madness’: Canonisation and Creativity in Vietnamese Music Theatre

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Norton, Barley. 2025. ‘Súy Vân Feigns Madness’: Canonisation and Creativity in Vietnamese Music Theatre. Traditions of Music and Dance, 58(1), ISSN 3033-4233 [Article] (Forthcoming)

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Abstract or Description

This article explores the canonisation of chèo music theatre in Vietnam since the early twentieth century. Focusing on the reform of the classical chèo play “Súy Vân,” it examines the confluence of factors—the political and cultural currents and the networks of actors—involved incanon formation. In this historical account of canonisation, chèo is positioned within an enlarged conversation about tradition, in which tradition is understood as a space for creativity that has recourse to the past while undergoing continual transformation. Moving beyond the canon, questions about the nature of tradition and artistic creativity in Vietnamese music theatre are also explored through analysis of recent experimental work by the artist SơnX.

Item Type:

Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1017/tmd.2025.2

Additional Information:

This article has been accepted for publication in Traditions of Music and Dance [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/traditions-of-music-and-dance]. This version is published under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND licence. No commercial re-distribution or re-use allowed. Derivative works cannot be distributed.

Funding: The research for this article was made possible by a British Academy/ Leverhulme Small Research Grant SRG18R1\180559, which I gratefully acknowledge.