Many modern-themed works at the 2025 National Cheo Festival

On the evening of November 2, at the Bac Ninh Provincial Cultural - Exhibition Center, the closing ceremony of the 2025 National Cheo Festival concluded 14 days of exciting competition between 12 professional Cheo art units across the country.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong and Vice Chairman of Bac Ninh Provincial People's Committee Mai Son presented the Excellence Award to the male and female actors. Photo: VH

According to the Chairman of the Arts Council, playwright Chu Thom, at this Festival, musicians, choreographers, sound and lighting artists, etc. have made efforts to contribute to creating a Festival with many innovations in performance forms.

A notable point at the 2025 National Cheo Festival is the strong shift in creative themes. While in the past, plays about history and folklore dominated, now, works with modern themes are almost equal to the number of historical plays. This shows that Cheo creators are making efforts to explore, experiment, and bring the breath of contemporary life to the stage.

In addition, the appearance of many young faces in the plays is also a positive signal, proving that the art of Cheo is being continued and renewed, adapting to the modern pace of life, fighting against the risk of fading away before the "storm 4.0" and the dominance of many other art forms.

Notably, this year’s works on the theme of revolutionary cadres, Party and State leaders are expressed with emotional depth. They are people with “heart and vision”, putting the national interest above all else, and are full of affection for comrades, teammates, family and people.

However, the Arts Council believes that there are not many elements of improvisation and spontaneity - the "quintessence" that once made the vitality of traditional Cheo. The "making up of words", flexibility in handling situations, also known as "following trends" seem to be absent in current plays, which are tightly staged according to fixed scripts.

Art units have boldly handled many ancient melodies such as: "Du xuan", "Xa dia khach", "Duong truong thu khong", "Con spider gieng net"... but the choice of melodies is still not really "suitable for the person, the scene, the character's personality"...

Held in Bac Ninh, the 2025 National Cheo Festival brings together nearly 900 artists, actors, and musicians from 12 professional Cheo art troupes across the country.

This is a national-scale art activity, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism every three years, to summarize and evaluate the quality of creation, staging and performance of Cheo art by art units nationwide.

Cheo play "Red Rain" by Hai Phong Traditional Theater. Photo: VH

During the two weeks of the festival, art troupes brought to the public and audiences who love Cheo art 21 unique and impressive plays. Each play lasted about 120 minutes, exploiting the historical and cultural themes of the homeland, harmoniously combining traditional features with contemporary life.

At the closing ceremony, the Organizing Committee awarded Gold Medals to two plays: “Nguyen Van Cu - Great Youth” of the Army Cheo Theatre and “Thien Menh” of the Bac Ninh Cheo Theatre; Silver Medals to 65 artists and actors and Gold Medals to 33 individuals with outstanding achievements.

The organizers also awarded outstanding awards to actors and actresses, along with outstanding awards to creative components including: literary author, adaptation author, director, art designer, choreographer and art director.

Source: https://congluan.vn/nhieu-tac-pham-de-tai-hien-dai-tai-lien-hoan-cheo-toan-quoc-2025-10316356.html