La Tran Duc Thien eagerly transforms into "Chi Pheo" in the new version

(NLDO) - When Chi Pheo "stepped out" of the pages of writer Nam Cao's book, young actors like La Tran Duc Thien eagerly transformed into challenging roles.

Actor and model La Tran Duc Thien

On the morning of October 24th, actor and model La Tran Duc Thien announced that he was in rehearsals, focusing intensely on his role as Chi Pheo – a symbol of the plight of people deprived of their human rights in the old society, even though this role has been adapted many times on stage and in film.

La Tran Duc Thien and his experimental role

"But in the latest production, young director Pham Thai Son promises to breathe new life and a fresh perspective into author Sy Hanh's work. Our team hopes to infuse the play with a different spirit: contemporary, experimental, and imbued with multiple layers of philosophy," said La Tran Duc Thien.

Actor and model La Tran Duc Thien

The highlight of the performance is the first-time portrayal of actor and model La Tran Duc Thien as Chi Pheo – a classic character in Vietnamese literature. With his physique, demeanor, and stage presence, La Tran Duc Thien did not choose to "copy" the role previously portrayed on screen, but instead found a new Chi Pheo for himself – authentic, instinctive, and utterly tormented.

"I wanted to find in Chí Phèo not only madness and resentment, but also the yearning to be loved and acknowledged as a human being. When he held Thị Nở's bowl of onion porridge, Chí not only sobered up but was also reborn," — La Trần Đức Thiện shared.

La Tran Duc Thien has a knack for literary drama.

Sỹ Hanh's adaptation of "Chí Phèo" remains faithful to the main plot of the original: Chí is abandoned at a brick kiln, works as a farmhand for Bá Kiến, is imprisoned, and then becomes a hired assassin. However, in this adaptation, director Phạm Thái Sơn does not illustrate the literary work but chooses to "retell" it using the language of folk theater, interspersed with symbolic and metaphorical techniques.

La Tran Duc Thien recounted that he and his team hoped to handle the stage with both subtlety and humor, making viewers laugh and then fall silent with the characters of Chi Pheo (La Tran Duc Thien), Thi No (Phan Quynh Nhu), Ly Cuong (Tran Dai Chinh), Thi No's aunt (Mai Cat), Ly Cuu (Phuc Khanh), Doi Tao (Quoc Truong), Ba Kien (Quang Thanh), Lao Tu (Le Ngoc Phu), Mu Ba (Thanh Tram), the innkeeper's wife (Thanh Lam), Truong Tuan (Nhan OKM)...

Notably, the ending doesn't stop at the bloody tragedy of the short story, but opens up a glimmer of humanistic values.

The cast and crew of the play "Chi Pheo" held a meeting to launch the project.

Previously on the stage of the Lac Long Quan Club, La Tran Duc Thien played the role of the king in the play "Thach Sanh - Ly Thong" and he also successfully performed the role of Governor Phu Si Su Luu Co in the excerpt "Thunderclap at Hoa Lu" (by Dang Nguyen, Thai Kim Tung), receiving praise from the audience.

A young, ambitious, and humane Chí Phèo.

On stage, La Tran Duc Thien's portrayal of Chi Pheo is not that of the "evil demon of Vu Dai village," but rather of a peasant pushed to the limits of despair. The torment in his eyes, his half-drunk, half-sober laughter, his unsteady gait yet full of inner strength – all of this deeply moves the audience.

Alongside him, Phan Quỳnh Như – playing the role of Thị Nở – promises to deliver an image that is "so ugly that even ghosts and demons would scorn her," yet radiates a strangely benevolent light. The line, "Moon, now Nở has found her match," leaves the entire audience silent, for such simple happiness seems like a luxury beyond their reach.

Actor and model La Tran Duc Thien

Young director and a fresh perspective on human tragedy.

Director Pham Thai Son is working diligently, and he hopes not to simply retell Nam Cao's story, but to find within it the reflection of contemporary humanity. Modern-day "Chi Pheo" figures still exist in contemporary life—people who are hurt, marginalized by prejudice and indifference.

The team also expressed their desire to expend all their energy to deliver a beautiful graduation performance for director Pham Thai Son.

La Tran Duc Thien plays the role of Governor Phu Si Su Luu Co in the excerpt "Thunderclap at Hoa Lu".

The play "Chí Phèo" was a challenging acting test for La Trần Đức Thiện and also a journey for him to discover himself as a true theatrical actor. Having transitioned from modeling to theater, La Trần Đức Thiện chose a difficult path, but one that was also filled with passion and creativity.

"I used to be afraid that the audience wouldn't accept a 'handsome' Chí Phèo. But when I put on the tattered clothes and the makeup, I felt like I truly was Chí – a man who had been abandoned by life, yet still longed for love. Playing this role, I learned to appreciate the most ordinary things in life," La Trần Đức Thiện confided.

The aspiration to revitalize classic plays with youthful energy.

The play "Chi Pheo" by Sy Hanh and Pham Thai Son will be a theatrical experiment and a further affirmation that the younger generation is daring to "dialogue" with classic theatrical works. They are not afraid to experiment, not afraid of confrontation, because behind it all is a desire to create decent art.

There, La Tran Duc Thien and his team of young actors delivered a message to the audience: "Within every person there is a Chi Pheo – all it takes is a bowl of onion porridge, a loving glance, to awaken the human side."

Source: https://nld.com.vn/la-tran-duc-thien-hao-huc-hoa-than-chi-pheo-trong-phien-moi-19625102414413637.htm