Heritage, tradition combined with modern technology will "touch" the audience

Known as a storyteller using theatrical language, director and producer Van Nguyen (Nguyen Huy Quang) recently became the first Vietnamese director to be honored as "Director for the mission of preserving cultural values UNESCO 2025" in Tokyo (Japan).

The title recognizes his persistent contributions in connecting Vietnamese art with the UNESCO spirit of cultural diversity, and also marks one of UNESCO's core missions of preserving cultural heritage. The program is organized by the Vietnam Federation of UNESCO Associations and the Japan Federation of UNESCO Associations.

Director Van Nguyen received the title "Director for the mission of preserving cultural values UNESCO 2025".

A representative of the Vietnam Federation of UNESCO Associations said: In the strong flow of Vietnam's cultural industry, director Nguyen Huy Quang - stage name Van Nguyen - is one of the typical faces who devotes all his heart to preserving and promoting national cultural values through modern theatrical language. As the founder of Van Show Art Joint Stock Company, he is not only a talented director but also a "cultural storyteller" through performing arts.

Possessing a solid academic foundation with majors in Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Cultural Studies and Stage Directing, under the training of great elders such as the late Professor Tran Quoc Vuong, People's Artist Nguyen Ngoc Phuong, Professor, Doctor, People's Teacher Nguyen Dinh Thi..., director Van Nguyen has affirmed his position during more than 2 decades of dedication to art.

Certificate of recognition for the title "Director for the mission of preserving cultural values UNESCO 2025" of director Van Nguyen.

Not only is he a creator, he is also a lecturer and art consultant who inspires many young generations in their journey to continue and preserve cultural roots. For Van Nguyen, art is not just a performance but a cultural mission, a way for him to contribute to preserving Vietnamese identity in the midst of globalization. It is this passion that has helped him become one of the typical directors connecting folk culture and modern theater, bringing the Vietnamese spirit closer to domestic and international audiences.

Mr. Yuji Suzuki, General Director of the Japan Federation of UNESCO Associations, expressed surprise and impression at the project of director and producer Van Nguyen, saying that the development of Vietnam's cultural industry is thanks to the persistent creative contributions of artists like him.

Director Van Nguyen said that receiving the title “Director for the mission of preserving cultural values UNESCO 2025” was an unexpected honor. Having worked in the theater for many years, he had never thought about any awards, whether domestic or international.

He said that he works as an instinctive need. Whenever he has the opportunity to touch the heritage art genres, he feels compelled to participate, to do it, without thinking about anything else but just wanting to be immersed in the ancient space imbued with time and rich in identity.

Director Van Nguyen (far right) and the Organizing Committee of the award ceremony.

“Being recognized by UNESCO Japan and Vietnam is a great and unexpected encouragement, giving me more motivation to continue to be “intoxicated” with heritage in many spaces and genres. I sincerely thank UNESCO Japan and Vietnam for paying attention to professionals like us, and hope that we will continue to receive encouragement and attention from heritage lovers, the “keepers” so that we have more motivation to contribute to keeping the fire alive” - Van Nguyen said.

For director Van Nguyen, preservation and creation are always difficult tasks, a challenge for all those who work in heritage theatre. In each work, he and his team always try to find a new direction, a new language based on the traditional foundation.

In some plays, when staging a performance honoring traditional crafts, he and his crew developed musical materials that combined the spirit and timbre of traditional instruments with contemporary breath and rhythm, along with the art of choreography, lighting, etc., thereby conveying the entire story of the profession's hardships.

Or in the "Southern Rivers" scene of the live show "Quintessence of Vietnam" in Phu Quoc, director Van Nguyen and his crew built and recreated the bustling floating market space on the wharf and under the boats, bustling and prosperous, combined with the sweet and soulful sounds of Southern folk music, bringing simple, profound and rustic emotions to tens of thousands of Vietnamese and international audiences through hundreds of consecutive performances every day... "We always try to send messages about the value and sacredness of heritage to Vietnamese audiences and international tourists!" - director Van Nguyen affirmed

Sharing about how to preserve the essence and make heritage more familiar and attractive to modern audiences in folk or traditional art programs, director Van Nguyen said that there is only one key to this solution. That is serious investment in each work. Today's youth have many opportunities to enjoy culture from all directions and update with the world in minutes, so they are very sensitive, knowledgeable and always have comparisons in their choices.

Van Nguyen believes that the world changes every day and performance technology is also constantly updated. Although heritage material stage has its core values, investment is one of the important criteria to convince the audience absolutely. With technology, effects and techniques (trying the best under possible conditions), the performances will reach the point of "touching" the audience's psychological emotions.

That is why each show of the heritage music series honoring the Vietnamese Monochord in 2022 and 2023 was enthusiastically cheered by thousands of domestic and international audiences gathered around Hoan Kiem Lake, and the live show Quintessence of Vietnam, including both the original and upgraded versions (staged in 2024), which has been regularly performed for more than 1,500 shows, continues to be well received.

Director Van Nguyen also confided that his greatest wish is that traditional music and heritage theater education must be taught extensively in schools right from primary school level. Only by being able to access, listen to and learn traditional music and theater from school in a sustainable and long-term manner can children develop a love and respect for traditional art and music.

Besides, he also hopes to have attention and treatment for the next generation of young artists who choose traditional art in particular and artisans and artists in this field in general.

“Hopefully, the attention of the whole society will be more and more worthy of the contributions of generations of senior artists and artisans who have worked hard to create, which is the foundation of the development we are enjoying today, because the civilized values of all humanity anywhere come from the foundation of culture, tradition and identity” - Van Nguyen shared.

NGUYEN HA

Source: https://nhandan.vn/di-san-truyen-thong-ket-hop-voi-cong-nghe-hien-dai-se-cham-toi-khan-gia-post923299.html