Hoang Phi impressed with the play "Turning on the Switch to Love," directed by Tran Ngoc Giau - Photo: LINH DOAN
Hoang Phi is a young actor who is considered capable of playing a variety of roles. He was once a prominent figure at the Youth World Theater. After leaving the Youth World Theater, he is now regularly collaborating with the New Theater team led by artist Hoai Linh.
I hope Hoang Phi will bring a new dimension to the character.
"The Mother and the Sword" is a play that the Ho Chi Minh City Drama Theatre has strived to produce to celebrate the April 30th holiday, a historical period for the city and the country.
Director Tran Ngoc Giau said that in their efforts to keep the lights on at the performance venue at 30 Tran Hung Dao, the artists of the Ho Chi Minh City Drama Theatre had to overcome difficulties to stage this play.
Due to a shortage of permanent actors, Mr. Giàu suggested that the theater invite Hoàng Phi to take on the role of Vĩnh Hường, a villainous character in "The Mother and the Sword" .
The reason Mr. Giau could trust Hoang Phi so much was because he had had the opportunity to work with Phi many times. He had previously directed the play "Turning the Switch to Love ," a play with a very unique style compared to the plays at The Young World Theatre.
In the play, Phi plays the robot character, the main protagonist, with an extremely bizarre performance and plot twists that leave the audience stunned.
Besides "Turning the Switch to Love ," Hoang Phi has many other excellent roles on stage, ranging from tragic, elderly, comedic to villainous characters, capable of handling them all. His debut in this play, a role outside his usual style, is also an opportunity for Hoang Phi to further explore his new abilities.
Hoang Phi (right) in the play "Against the Wind". Whether it's a major or minor role, Hoang Phi is always able to make his performance leave a lasting impression on the audience - Photo: LINH DOAN
How will the spoken drama version differ from the cải lương (Vietnamese traditional opera) version?
"The Mother and the Sword" is a script by poet Phan Vũ. Previously, director Trần Ngọc Giàu staged it for the Tây Đô cải lương (traditional Vietnamese opera) troupe under the same title. Since the Lunar New Year of 2026, the Ho Chi Minh City Drama Theater has managed to hold a few performances, and now they are staging "The Mother and the Sword" to continue adding it to their repertoire and performing it for audiences.
"The Mother and the Sword" is a story spanning 30 years, from wartime to peacetime, in a family in the Mekong Delta. The father joined the revolution, while the son fought on the other side. They belonged to the Tran Trung clan, possessing a precious ancient sword passed down from their ancestors who fought alongside Quang Trung Nguyen Hue against the enemy.
If the performance in Tay Do was a Cai Luong (traditional Vietnamese opera) version, then the one at the Ho Chi Minh City Drama Theatre is a true spoken drama. The play doesn't have many characters, so it demands a great deal of inner strength and acting ability from the actors.
As the person who created the Cai Luong version and is now working on the spoken drama version, Mr. Giau emphasized in an interview with Tuoi Tre newspaper that the two different genres naturally require different staging approaches.
While cải lương (Vietnamese traditional opera) is structured and focuses on singing, the drama version emphasizes the depth of character psychology to convey the dramatic tension, anxieties, and inner feelings of the characters. Besides Hoàng Phi, the play also features actors Việt Hà, Quốc Thịnh, Hoàng Tấn, Huỳnh Thanh Trung, and others.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hoang-phi-dong-kich-cach-mang-20260405093016585.htm
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