Contemporary stage play:

On October 13, in Hanoi , the Hanoi Theatre Association organized a workshop on "Building stage scripts on contemporary themes" to analyze the causes and find solutions to build a stage repertoire with many works on contemporary themes, imbued with the breath of today's life, attracting the dedicated contributions of units, researchers, and stage artists in the capital.

The proportion of contemporary scripts is too small in the repertoire.

People's Artist Bui Thanh Tram delivered a keynote speech at the workshop. Photo: Thuy Du

Speaking at the opening ceremony, People's Artist Bui Thanh Tram, former Chairman of the Hanoi Theatre Association, said that in recent times, the capital's theatre in particular and the country's theatre in general have produced many works on historical themes, famous people, and revolutionary wars of high quality in terms of ideology, content, and art. However, the theatre still lacks works on contemporary themes, on burning issues that are having many impacts, changing social life and people in the integration period.

People's Artist Bui Thanh Tram gave an example, in 2024, there were 5 professional art festivals including: National Festival of Stage Works for Youth and Children; National Drama Festival, National Cai Luong Festival; Hanoi Open Stage Festival and the first Ho Chi Minh City Drama Festival. According to statistics, out of 109 plays participating in the 5 festivals, only about 10% of the plays dealt with social life and contemporary people. Most of the scripts were written a long time ago, and scripts by young authors are even rarer. In particular, few scripts exploit the hot issues of today's society. This is a sad reality in the context of the stage facing the challenge of development, attracting audiences and competing with many other forms of art and entertainment.

“Today’s audiences need plays that directly reflect their own lives on stage. Viewers need theatrical art to deliver directional messages and provide predictions from real life; to truly reflect developments in society and in people to explain and contribute to a better life,” said People’s Artist Bui Thanh Tram.

The play "Don't Fall" by Hanoi Drama Theater. Photo: Hanoi Drama

The workshop “Building contemporary stage scripts” aims to analyze the causes and find solutions to build a stage repertoire with many works on contemporary themes, imbued with the breath of today’s life, in order to perform well the basic functions of stage art. These are forecasting, cognitive, educational and aesthetic functions, thereby closely following the pace of modern life and continuing to play an important role in the cultural life of the capital.

Playwright Le Quy Hien commented that the proportion of contemporary scripts is too small in the current repertoire. “The renovation process launched by our Party, all issues are public and transparent. Today's public demands that the stage speak what the people see, think, and hope for, so I think contemporary themes must account for the majority of the repertoire,” playwright Le Quy Hien expressed. He also said that composing on any theme is the author's ability and right, but building a reasonable repertoire with practical issues that are happening is the job of stage managers and leaders of art units.

Need to engage and be closer to life

Delegates discuss and give comments at the workshop. Photo: Thuy Du

Having followed the stage for many years, journalist Thuy Hien believes that the Vietnamese stage is currently facing a worrying shortage of contemporary scripts that directly reflect the burning issues of today's life. While society is changing rapidly with issues of urbanization, environment, technology, youth, conflict of interests, etc., the stage is increasingly moving away from the "breath" of modernity.

The reason, according to journalist Thuy Hien, is that many authors are afraid of conflicts, choosing safe topics such as history, revolution, folklore; plus the ordering mechanism of art units also prioritizes this topic because it is "easy to approve, less risky". Meanwhile, the force of young authors is less interested in theater, shifting to cinema, television or online literature, causing theater scripts to increasingly lack the "breath" of the contemporary.

However, according to journalist Thuy Hien, there are still positive signs. Some modern plays such as “Puppetry”, “The Remaining Things”, “Dolls”… show that when the author dares to step out of the “safe zone”. The legacy of contemporary works by playwright Luu Quang Vu still proves its enduring vitality, each time it is re-produced, it attracts a large audience, especially young people. That affirms that contemporary scripts are a real need of the stage and of the audience today.

The opera "The Half-Closed Door" is about biotechnology and artificial intelligence. Photo: T.Kien

Regarding the issue of writing, author, director, Meritorious Artist Trinh Quang Khanh said that writing stage scripts on contemporary themes is a challenge that is both “easy and difficult”. It is easy because they are stories and events of today’s life, close and familiar to the experiences of each writer. But it is also very difficult because social reality is so diverse, with so many contradictions and dramatic conflicts that the writer cannot help but be hesitant.

He frankly admitted that many tragedies and conflicts in today's life, especially in the field of fighting corruption and negativity, have not been properly reflected on stage. Partly due to the limited creativity of writers, partly due to cautious mentality, the authors still "stand outside", only observing and listening instead of directly and strongly depicting those conflicts.

Meritorious Artist Nghiem Nhan commented that some contemporary stage scripts need to reflect in a vivid, multi-dimensional and humane way the contradictions in life and society: People in the rhythm of urban life; workers between the pressure of making a living and dignity; young people with the desire to establish themselves and make a career; embezzlement, corruption; modern families facing spiritual fractures; the development of digital technology or modern tragedy; broken ethical value systems; traditional values at risk of being lost; life needs balance or bias... or write about entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises that are quiet but full of courage, overcoming the crisis to contribute to the economy.

At the workshop, many delegates also proposed solutions to add more scripts and quality theatrical works on contemporary topics such as: Organizing practical creative activities; organizing creative camps, festivals, and theater awards on contemporary topics; professional associations connecting with art units to order authors to write on contemporary topics... The most important thing is that authors and art units all engage in "thorny" issues, boldly bringing good scripts to the stage.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/kich-ban-san-khau-de-tai-duong-dai-khoang-trong-lon-vi-ngai-va-cham-719463.html