Lunar New Year Theater in the Year of the Horse: Extended performance schedule, exciting new plays.

The Lunar New Year theater season is the most prosperous time of year for Ho Chi Minh City's theater scene. Every spring, theaters are bustling with preparations for new plays, while audiences eagerly await to see what "special treats" the theaters will offer them.

Artist Hoai Linh in the play "One House, Three Styles of Tet" by the New Stage - Photo: LINH DOAN

Compared to last year, the number of plays staged for Tet this year has increased. Nearly 30 new plays have been produced.

Lunar New Year plays extend their performance schedule.

The first day of the Lunar New Year (Year of the Horse) fell on a Tuesday. Usually, the performance schedule only lasts until around the 8th or 9th day of the Lunar New Year. However, this year, right after the usual Lunar New Year performances, the show continued straight into the weekend.

Therefore, in most theaters in Ho Chi Minh City, Tet plays last from the 1st to the 13th of January. It can be said that this year the theater scene in Ho Chi Minh City is celebrating Tet on a grand scale. Moreover, the performance schedule is quite packed.

Most theaters schedule two shows per day from the 1st to around the 8th or 9th of the month.

There are two "warriors" that dare to perform three shows a day: the Youth World Stage and the 5B Drama Theater.

This year, the gap between the Western New Year and the Lunar New Year is quite long, so theaters have more time to prepare and stage new plays. Therefore, the number of plays has also increased. Each theater is preparing around 2-3 new plays to serve the audience.

The Lunar New Year of the Horse also marked the appearance of two "newcomers." These were the Trinh Kim Chi coffee theater on the first floor (headquarters of the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association, 5B Vo Van Tan) and the return after a seven-year absence of the Ho Chi Minh City Drama Theater, bringing the total number of participating theaters for the Lunar New Year to 13 or 14.

The play "Ma Dao Khai Xuan" by the Ho Chi Minh City Drama Theatre - Photo: LINH DOAN

Each theater group has gradually developed its own style, so overall, the 2026 Lunar New Year theater scene is quite diverse, offering audiences many entertainment options for the spring season.

Tragedy and psychological drama dominate.

In previous years, to add vibrancy and color to Tet plays, many organizations prioritized staging period plays and plays with folk themes. This year, however, this genre seems to be lagging behind.

The strongest contender is the Idecaf Theatre, which has two Tet plays in this genre: " The Red Crow Spreading Its Wings" and "The Village Without Thieves ." The Truong Hung Minh Theatre collaborated with the Huynh Long troupe to produce "The Four Scholars ' Examination " (an adaptation of the traditional Vietnamese opera "The Four Scholars' Examination").

The play "The Thief-Free Village" by Idecaf Theatre - Photo: LINH DOAN

Finding good scripts for period dramas is difficult, and staging them is time-consuming and expensive. Perhaps that's why this genre has declined this year, with many theaters opting to revive old scripts and breathe new life into them. A prime example is the Hong Van Theater, whose three plays for Tet this year— "Catching Fish with Three Hands," "Relatively Confused Reunion," and "Illusionary Image" —are all adaptations of old scripts.

Thien Dang Theatre also restaged the play " The House Without Men ," Hoang Thai Thanh Theatre remade " 29 Brothers Return ," and Ho Chi Minh City Theatre remade "I'll Marry You in January 2 "...

Thien Dang Stage invited Nhat Quang, a young director from the North, to direct the play "The Perfect Game ". After months of traveling with television programs, game shows, and the Lunar New Year, artist Tien Luat also rushed back to the Youth World Stage to direct the play "Million Dollar Birthday" .

Young director Minh Nhật is working alongside veteran director Hoài Linh to stage three plays for the Lunar New Year season at the New Stage. Young director Đỗ Thúy is presenting the play "Mã đáo khai xuân" at the City Theater...

The play "The Secret of the Circus and the Magical Horse" by the 5B Theatre - Photo: LINH DOAN

Although children's plays are still relatively scarce, they have gradually emerged during the Lunar New Year season. The 5B Theater has gradually built a habit of attracting audiences to watch children's plays on weekends, creating its own dedicated audience. Therefore, this Lunar New Year, the theater is boldly staging two new children's plays : "The Turmoil in the Fairy Tale Forest " and "The Secret of the Circus and the Magical Horse ."

The schedule for children's plays at 5B is even busier than that for adult plays. Despite facing difficulties, the Ban Mai Children's Theatre still manages to hold performances from the 2nd to the 6th of the month.

This year's Tet (Lunar New Year) plays also feature the historical play " General Le Van Duyet - The Man Who Received Nine Death Sentences" by the Idecaf Theatre on the 8th day of the Lunar New Year. Usually, theatres are hesitant to stage this type of play during Tet for fear of attracting a niche audience. Idecaf's "boldness" is understandable, as this historical play remains a popular production at the theatre, having already been performed over 50 times.

Scene from the play "Hang's Daughter" by Truong Hung Minh Theatre - Photo: LINH DOAN

The colors of cải lương (Vietnamese traditional opera) in Tet plays.

Many plays for the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Horse (2016) chose to incorporate elements of Cai Luong (Vietnamese traditional opera) to create novelty and help younger audiences learn about and appreciate this traditional art form. Besides "Tu Trang Dang Khoa ," which is 70-80% Cai Luong, the Truong Hung Minh theater also adapted " Con Gai Chi Hang" from the famous work of Cai Luong playwrights Ha Trieu and Hoa Phuong.

The Hoang Thai Thanh stage invited the once-famous Cai Luong actress Phuong Hong Thuy to play the lead role in the play "29 Anh Ve" (29 Brothers Return ). In the play, Phuong Hong Thuy sang a poignant and moving excerpt from the song "Phuong Hoang" (Phoenix).

The Youth World Theatre presents the play "Late Night Theatre," which depicts the joys and sorrows of the old theatrical troupe, with excerpts from the Luong Son Ba - Chuc Anh Dai opera featured throughout the play.

The Ho Chi Minh City Theatre, in its comeback, immediately chose artist Vu Luan as its "trump card." Because they invited Vu Luan, the script was quickly changed to feature the artist as the main character. In the play "In January, I'll Marry You Two," Vu Luan had the opportunity to showcase his talent by singing many excerpts from Cai Luong (Vietnamese traditional opera).

LINH DOAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/kich-tet-binh-ngo-lich-dien-keo-dai-vo-moi-xom-tu-20260211094905118.htm