Simple yet moving performances.

Each melody, each story, and each portrayal of the police officer is vividly depicted, imbued with profound cultural and moral values.

The 5th National Professional Theatre Arts Festival - 2025 (from June 24th to July 7th in Hanoi ) focusing on "The Image of the People's Police Officer" introduced to the public many new and worthwhile works with a political commentary tone.

The heartbeat of trust

The festival brings together 25 performances from 21 art troupes nationwide, notably featuring traditional theatrical forms such as Cheo, Cai Luong, Nghe Tinh folk songs, Hue opera, and Central Vietnamese Bai Choi.

The play "My Son Returns to His Mother" (a traditional Vietnamese opera from Ha Nam province) tells the story of an elderly mother longing for her comrades to help find the remains of her son, who sacrificed his life for the country, and the police officer who silently assists her. Without flashy scenes or intense drama, director People's Artist Tran Hoai Thu chose a narrative style interspersed with psychological acting and used the rhythm of traditional opera to create a quiet yet profound atmosphere. The opera's lyrics are like folk verses about filial piety and the compassion of today's police officers.

A scene from the traditional Vietnamese opera "The Red Heart" by the Army Traditional Opera Theatre.

In "Moon Riverbank" (a traditional Hung Yen opera), the image of the police officer is brought back into contemporary village life. There are no major cases, no clear villains, but rather underlying conflicts within the community. There, the police officer is the keeper of tradition, preserving the peace and tranquility of a small village, where the sound of the opera drum still resonates as a heartbeat of trust.

With "Never Give Up" (a folk song from Nghe Tinh), the police officer involved in solving the case, despite being addicted to drugs, rose up and started over, proving worthy of returning to the ranks of police officers protecting the peace and security of the people's lives.

The technique of interweaving folk songs, chants, and lyrical dialogues makes the image of the police officer seem to dissolve into the hearts of the people, becoming a collective character connected to the land and the soul of the homeland.

Infused with folk traditions.

One of the most notable successes of this festival is its ability to seamlessly and naturally adapt modern themes into traditional artistic frameworks. The image of the police officer is "nurtured" with folk elements and traditional language – as a way of affirming that today's police officers, despite their ranks, are still sons of the nation, originating from the countryside and villages.

"Lost" (Hue Opera - Hue Opera Theatre) chooses the image of a security officer who rehabilitates a criminal, turning him into a reliable cover to help crack a major drug trafficking case. The melancholic and deeply narrative passages, imbued with the essence of Hue, serve as a backdrop for the image of a man silently dedicated to his cause, torn between ideals and emotions.

Particularly daring is the play "The Devil's Game" (Bài Chòi - Bình Định), which uses the traditional Bài Chòi game as a metaphor for high-tech criminal tactics and the battle of wits between the police and reactionary elements disguised as cultural figures.

The director exploited the technique of "modern allegory within a traditional structure," where folk songs become alarm trumpets and commands for action. The play flexibly blends the language of games with the structure of crime solving, transforming Bài Chòi – originally a folk game – into a sharp tool for social criticism.

The play "The Oath on Flagpole Mountain" by the Hai Phong Traditional Theatre boasts a beautifully staged production with an epic yet tragic structure. The play's structure reflects a classical Eastern tragedy, emphasizing the oath and sacrifice – highlighting the sacredness of the ideal of defending the homeland. The traditional Vietnamese folk music in the play is like a lullaby about loyalty.

More than just an art event, the festival is also an opportunity for us to realize that preserving our identity is not only about recreating the past, but also about telling the story of today in the language of our ancestors.

People's Artist Trinh Thuy Mui, President of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association, commented: "The subtle combination of folk elements and realistic themes has helped elevate the art, affirming the topicality, humanism, and appeal of traditional theater in the flow of modern art."

Source: https://nld.com.vn/nhung-vo-dien-dung-di-ma-lay-dong-196250704212232667.htm