Touring islands, remote areas: Shining the traditional stage

As a locality with vibrant theatrical activities, in 2024, along with investing in improving the quality of programs and plays, the city will focus on bringing lively theater directly to listeners and viewers, prioritizing remote, isolated, and island areas to improve people's spiritual lives.

Hai Phong Song and Dance Troupe performs in Viet Hai commune (Cat Hai district). Photo: Do Hien

Pioneering in bringing art to remote islands

On the evening of March 19, the outdoor stage of the Bach Long Vi Island Defense Battalion (Bach Long Vi District Military Command) was bustling with folk melodies, along with lively and attractive puppet shows performed by young artists and actors of the Hai Phong Puppetry Art Troupe. The harvest atmosphere in the Northern countryside in "Beautiful Bamboo Tree", spring coming to the highland village in "Spring in the Village" or sweet lyrics praising the beauty of the homeland in "Hello Vietnam" through the performance of artists and puppets became more vibrant in the cheers of hundreds of officers, soldiers of the unit and people of the island district.

Enthusiastically cheering for the artists, soldier Mai Van Tho, Bach Long Vi Island Defense Battalion, confided: People and soldiers on the island used to only enjoy art through television programs. On this occasion, watching the puppetry artists perform live helped me feel more clearly the beauty of traditional art, as well as love the rich and beautiful land, the talented people of the city and the country, thereby wishing to contribute my efforts to build my homeland to be more and more rich and civilized...

In early April 2024, the city's shock art troupe also followed the working group of the Navy and Hai Phong city to perform for soldiers on Truong Sa archipelago. According to Deputy Head of Hai Phong Cheo Troupe Tran Quoc Kien, officers, soldiers and people on Truong Sa archipelago not only face harsh nature, hot sun, storms and a material life lacking fresh water and green vegetables, but also lack of spiritual life - no movies, no professional stage; 3 months, even 6 months are spent with newspapers from the mainland. In order to bring "spiritual food" to the island to help make up for that lack, the shock art troupe, including artists and actors from professional art troupes of the city, set out to perform art to serve officers, soldiers and people of Truong Sa. Of which, Hai Phong Cheo Troupe has 4 artists; Hai Phong Song and Dance Troupe, Hai Phong Opera Troupe, and Puppetry Art Troupe have from 1 to 3 artists participating, bringing songs and voices to the sacred sea and islands of the Fatherland.

Since the beginning of 2024, the city's professional art troupes have organized 10 tours and plays under the Television Stage Project, including many tours in remote areas and islands. Along with that, localities have organized many art performances on holidays and Tet to meet the people's need to enjoy culture and art, ensuring equality from the inner city to the disadvantaged areas.

Improve people's cultural enjoyment

Artist Luong Hai Phuong, Secretary of the Hai Phong Puppetry Art Troupe, said that the artists going to the island are small shock art troupes with about ten people or less and mainly... singing. The artists going to the island must be "multi-talented", meaning that they can sing solo, in groups, and dance, that's great, and if they can play the guitar and play the drums, that's even better. Musicians who can play many musical instruments, actors who can sing folk songs, light music, and even spontaneously play a piece of chamber music... will be like "knives", serving the soldiers and people on the island more effectively. During the days of bringing puppetry art to the soldiers and people on Bach Long Vi youth island, although it was extremely difficult to cross the ocean to the island, carrying props and puppets, the enthusiastic applause and encouragement helped the artists to feel less tired and enthusiastically perform. Next May, the Youth Troupe will continue to plan a shock tour to Truong Sa archipelago...

According to Director of the Department of Culture and Sports Tran Thi Hoang Mai, implementing the Television Stage Project, the city's art troupes focus on touring to serve the people in districts, with priority given to remote areas, islands such as Bach Long Vi island district, Viet Hai island commune... Organizing tours in the suburbs and islands still faces difficulties, such as difficult facilities for touring; budget support for cultural activities in general, production activities, bringing cultural products to the people is of interest, increased compared to before, but still does not meet the requirements of the task in the new situation. Overcoming all difficulties, art troupes are still enthusiastic, maintaining the highest "performance" when organizing touring activities. The efforts of artists, actors, and those working in the city's cultural sector aim towards the common goal of bringing cultural and artistic products closer to the people, improving the people's cultural enjoyment in line with the city's economic development./.

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