The journey has no end

The stage opened, a round of applause rang out. Amidst the lights, Captain Nguyen Thi My Linh, an actress of the 1st Theater of the Army Drama Theater, transformed herself into the female doctor Huyen in the play " Dien Bien Wai Que". Her petite figure, bright eyes and warm voice, moved the audience to tears when she played the role of a female doctor who, regardless of danger, sought every way to save wounded soldiers amidst the rain of enemy bombs and bullets. Few people know that behind her perfect performance was a journey of hard training and a deep love for an art form that is often selective of its audience: Drama.

On behalf of the leaders of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army, Major General Tran Ngoc Anh, Director of the General Department of Politics (General Department of Politics ) presented a Certificate of Merit from the General Department of Politics to Captain Nguyen Thi My Linh on the occasion of the Party Congress of the Army Drama Theater for the 2025-2030 term. Photo: Provided by the Theater

We had the opportunity to meet My Linh right after the success of the show. She has a gentle, charming beauty, attractive with a lovely face and expressive eyes. Sometimes she shows the sharp features of the character on stage, sometimes she is full of love. The smile is always on her lips, radiating positive and friendly energy. It is that spirit that makes her a bright spot on the Army drama stage in recent years.

Captain Nguyen Thi My Linh and the Army Drama Theater on a charity trip to Phong Tho, Lai Chau in 2024.

My Linh confided that in 2024, she and her teammates performed 80 shows, a number that is not easy for any artist, especially an artist in the Army. In the first 6 months of 2025 alone, My Linh continued to participate in 60 shows across the three regions of North-Central-South. It is not an exaggeration to call them "trips without stops". Because there were days when she finished performing at 10 pm in Nghe An, the next morning she had to be in Ha Tinh for another program. Journey after journey, role after role, but every time she stood in front of the audience, she kept herself fresh.

Actress My Linh with kindergarten students at Pa Vay Su school, Phong Tho, Lai Chau.

“I perform a lot, it’s really hard! There were nights when I was so exhausted that I didn’t have time to remove my makeup and fell asleep on the backstage chair. But then the next morning when I woke up, I felt light-hearted, with something that gave me more energy. Maybe because I got to live in the emotions of the audience, in the beautiful stories that drama brings,” My Linh said, her voice lowering.

For My Linh, such trips are not simply a duty, but have become a rhythm of life. At night in Truong Sa, she performed the short play “Bright Eyes” amidst the murmuring waves, the marines nodding along to each line. One night in the highlands of Lao Cai, the ethnic minorities who watched the play “The Last Lie” stayed until the end, then quietly shook hands, nodded, and some even gave her a brocade bracelet as a gift.

“At times like that, I don’t feel tired anymore. I just feel lucky to still be able to perform, to still hear sincere applause, and to still be able to bring art closer to life,” My Linh confided.

Keep the audience with real emotions

In the era of entertainment technology explosion, when social networks and short video platforms dominate the market, theater, especially political drama and traditional drama, is increasingly finding it difficult to retain audiences. There are nights when theater performances, despite investment in content and art, still cannot avoid the lack of audience.

Nguyen Thi My Linh understands this reality. But she has never thought of turning away. “If I don’t do it to the end, if I don’t devote all my heart to the profession, who will? Drama will be forgotten without artists who dare to contribute,” she shared. For My Linh, each role is an opportunity to tell a decent story that touches people’s hearts. Not following easy tastes, she chose a difficult but meaningful path: Focusing on artistic quality and the ability to empathize with the audience. That is the “light” that needs to be preserved of true art, quiet but not extinguished.

Captain Nguyen Thi My Linh during the tour and gift giving to students in the mountainous area of Lai Chau of the Army Drama Theater, October 2024.

Starting with supporting roles when she entered the Theater in 2015 such as Lam in “Silent Time”, the female volunteer in “Toc May Len Ha”... and quickly she made an impression, asserting her own mark when in 2016, she was assigned the main role of singer Huong Ly in the play “Nguoi Ha Noi” - an excellent role that won the Gold Medal at the 2nd Capital Theater Festival in 2016.

After that, every year, she took on one or two main/supporting roles in the Theater's programs, until 2024 marked a turning point in her inner depth, affirming her acting ability with the role of Nguyen Thi Xuan in the play "Vang trang trinh liet", My Linh won the Gold Medal at the 2024 National Drama Festival - a prestigious medal, an opportunity to affirm her career that not every actor is lucky enough to have. Before that, she and her crew won the Silver Medal at the 5th International Experimental Theater Festival with the play "Hoa khua duoc chong".

Auditoriums that don't need velvet seats

Not every stage has bright lights, the audience sits on luxurious velvet chairs, and fragrant fresh flowers. For My Linh and the actors of the Army Drama Theater, many performances are just a concrete yard covered with canvas, or a small auditorium in a military barracks. Some places have weak electricity, rudimentary equipment, and are not even equipped to sing with a microphone. But strangely enough, it is those stages that move her the most.

She told about a performance in Co To island district. It suddenly rained, the stage roof leaked. But the audience still did not leave their seats. Soldiers used raincoats to cover the actors. My Linh choked up as she recalled: “We performed in the rain, no one told anyone, just kept going. After the last act, applause rang out amidst the sound of falling rain, and I cried. Not because I was tired, but because I was deeply moved.”

My Linh calls them “audiences that don’t need velvet seats,” where the feelings between performers and audiences are so close that they don’t need flowery words. That empathy is the greatest reward for an artist.

On each business trip to remote areas, Captain Nguyen Thi My Linh (left) and her colleagues at the Theater always prepare many gifts for the students.

In a time when drama has a shrinking audience, especially young audiences, My Linh understands that the path she has chosen is not easy. But because of that, she is even more determined to stay, and wants to do something for the stage, an art form that requires perseverance and kindness.

My Linh confided: “Not everyone likes drama. There are performances where the audience is sparse. But I still act as if the auditorium is full, because I believe that if just one person is moved, the role is valuable.” There was a time when she wondered: “Am I being too dreamy when I maintain a love for the stage in the era of the market economy?”. But then, a disabled boy held her hand after the performance and said: “You act as if you are telling my story,” which made her silent for a long time. And then, she moved on.

Actress My Linh and the actors of the Army Drama Theater, in addition to their business trips to perform for soldiers and people across the country, especially in remote areas, borders, islands, and remote villages, where ethnic minorities have very few opportunities to enjoy art because art troupes rarely come to perform, they also diligently bring plays closer to the public when she and her teammates carry out many community programs such as participating in live theater programs: "Return to the old ferry", "Keep the green", communication on preventing and combating domestic violence, protecting children, programs celebrating major and important holidays of the country broadcast live on Vietnam Television, Vietnam National Defense Television...

“I believe that art is not only for entertainment, but also for healing and uplifting people,” My Linh affirmed.

Artist-soldier: Two roles in one

During more than ten years working at the Army Drama Theater, as an artist, she transformed into dozens of main and supporting characters on stage. As a soldier, she fully completed political tasks, training, shooting, and rehearsals. Captain Nguyen Thi My Linh also completed every role perfectly. In her role as Secretary of the Youth Union of the Army Drama Theater, My Linh and her teammates successfully organized many volunteer activities, connecting young artists with the community, and arousing youthful enthusiasm in each art program. Activities such as: "Spring of Solidarity - Tet of Military-Civilian Love", "Godmother", "Voluntary Blood Donation"... all left the mark of My Linh and the Youth Union.

For My Linh, being an artist-soldier is not about shouldering two burdens, but about “living a life with responsibility and full emotions”. Every morning she is a serious soldier on the training ground, and every evening she is an artist burning herself out under the stage lights.

With tireless efforts throughout her more than 10-year career, Captain Nguyen Thi My Linh has received many titles: Gold Medal at the 2nd Capital Theater Festival in 2016; Gold Medal at the National Drama Festival in 2024; Silver Medal at the 5th National Professional Theater Arts Festival on "Image of the People's Public Security Soldier" in 2025...; Promising Young Face of the Army; Emulation Soldier at the Base for many consecutive years... But for her, the greatest achievement is "still feeling my heart tremble every time I step onto the stage".

Youth of the Army Drama Theater presented a Great Solidarity House to a poor household in Lai Chau province.

Colonel, Meritorious Artist Le Thi Mai Phuong, Director of the Army Drama Theater commented: “My Linh is a young artist who possesses both virtue and talent. My Linh is serious about her career, sincere with her audience, and has a very special ability to spread her ideals. She is a model Army artist in the new era.”

Colonel Do Toan, Party Secretary and Political Commissar of the Army Drama Theater, commented: “My Linh has the perseverance of a soldier and the depth of an artist. Linh is not afraid of hardship or challenges, but always finds motivation in each performance. That is very precious.”

From supporting roles to complex inner main roles, from rehearsals in the middle of a hot summer afternoon to performances on foot in border posts and highland villages, every step My Linh takes is a true slice of the artist-soldier. She does not embellish her career with flowery words or exaggerated images, but quietly contributes, like a smoldering flame that never goes out.

A line in a play My Linh once participated in said: "Don't let the fire in your heart die out just because people can't see its light." For her, that fire not only shines brightly on stage, but also smolders in every trip, every performance, every time she holds the audience's hand... Like a silent promise to her profession, to people and to herself.

Article and photos: NGUYEN HONG SANG

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-su-dieu-tra/cuoc-thi-nhung-tam-guong-binh-di-ma-cao-quy-lan-thu-16/dai-uy-qncn-nguyen-thi-my-linh-giu-lua-san-khau-kich-noi-bang-trai-tim-nguoi-linh-838452