People's Artist Giang Manh Ha: "The script is the root for the stage to conquer the audience"

NSND Giang Mạnh Hà: — People's Artist Giang Manh Ha - Vice President of Vietnam Stage Artists Association

After more than a week of exciting work at the Stage Script Writing Camp organized by the Vietnam Stage Artists Association, authors from all over the country had the opportunity to exchange frankly and gain a clearer understanding of the current situation and development direction of contemporary theater.

People's Artist Giang Manh Ha - Vice President of the Association - shared many profound thoughts about the profession and the path of theater innovation today.

"Art cannot be rushed - the value is daring to sow the seeds of creativity"

. PV: How do you evaluate this year's writing camp?

- People's Artist Giang Manh Ha: This is a real creative camp. The authors not only present their scripts but also dare to "speak frankly and honestly" about the issues of the profession. From there, we have the basis to organize seminars and specialized training courses to nurture the source of theatrical creatives.

First of all, let me share a few words from my professional perspective. We are not here to give advice, but also to cultivate together the "stage career" - a sacred thing that will last a lifetime.

Some young authors have boldly experimented, such as Tran Kim Khoi - who dared to find new writing styles and different ways of handling drama. Although the results are only "seedlings", they are precious seeds of creativity.

15 scripts participating in the camp include: "Wolf's Heart" (author Nguyen Thu Phuong), "Gift from the Mainland" (Tran Kim Khoi; "Mu-Ta Ring - More than Love" (Mai Van Thanh); "Fire Warrior" (Tang Hoang Thuan); "Passing the Throne" (Pham Van Dang); "Binh Tay Nhi Lang Nguyen Soai (Tran My Dung); "The Peak of the Leopard Cave Waterfall" (Tran Thi Hong Yen); "Nguyen An Ninh" (Nguyen Toan Thang); "Rice Grains Still Bloom in Spring" (Vu Thu Phong);

"Great power or small miracle" (Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet); "Dao Lieu" (People's Artist Lan Huong); "People through war" (Ngoc Truc); "Sisters" (Le Thu Hanh); "Soul of the dead" (Bui Hong Que); "Wildflowers" (Truong Minh Thuan).

Among them are 2 reformed opera scripts, 3 children's scripts, and 3 scripts about contemporary life. The remaining scripts all focus on issues of human fate in life; fates that have gone through war and contemporary people's perspectives on historical figures and revolutionary heroes who have devoted their lives to the Fatherland.

Some say that the theater is in crisis because of the lack of good scripts. What do you think?

- Absolutely right. The script is the foundation. Without good "powder", it is difficult for directors and actors to "make paste". Many authors today write in isolation, lacking updates on reality, far from the audience. For the stage to survive, the work must be imbued with the breath of life, touching the hearts of the audience.

" Ho Chi Minh City - dynamic highlight of Vietnamese theater"

-. How do you evaluate the position of Ho Chi Minh City theater in the current theatrical life?

- Ho Chi Minh City is a dynamic highlight of the national stage. The city's artists are constantly experimenting. In 2025, the city's stage staged many political works that created unique impressions and attracted large audiences. This is a manifestation of creativity, self-searching for audiences and proactive dialogue of socialized stages.

Vietnamese theatre, besides experimentation, must maintain the mainstream, which is drama, political theory, history, and topics about the Vietnamese people and nation. This is the source of identity and depth of thought, which cannot be allowed to fade away.

Does keeping the drama genre separate the stage from young audiences?

- Not at all. I once supported People's Artist Hoang Yen in Ho Chi Minh City to maintain the historical drama stage performed at schools and military barracks, with performances attracting thousands of audiences, mostly students and soldiers.

They were enthralled and applauded from beginning to end. It proved that if done well, drama can still thrive and spread strongly.

According to you, what is the most urgent thing now to create resources for the development of the stage?

- We will discuss in detail with People's Artist Trinh Thuy Mui - President of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association and Dr. Nguyen Dang Chuong - Vice President of the Association to issue a resolution of the Standing Committee, focusing on three directions: Organizing specialized writing camps; Connecting writing - staging - performance - propaganda so that scripts are actually brought to the stage; Encouraging socialization of creativity, in parallel with maintaining the mainstream of drama. At the same time, the Association will organize training courses for authors, directors, and young theorists and critics to build a team of successors with knowledge and professional courage.

Giang Manh Ha - "I believe in the young generation"

What do you expect from today's young artists?

- I always put my trust in them. As long as they are given the conditions and their aspirations are inspired, they will create surprises. The stage will light up to attract the public with stories that are true, humane, and have deep thoughts. Only when art is both modern and retains its traditional roots, then will the stage truly live in the hearts of the people.

The stage creation camp was held from October 10 to 17 in Tam Dao, Phu Tho . In addition to analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of 15 works participating in the camp with the hope of finding good scripts to provide to art units across the country, the camp also organized discussions and seminars to find solutions to the current bottleneck, which is the lack and weakness of contemporary themes in the stage.

The success of the camp is that this year many young authors attended and exchanged frankly, with a high sense of responsibility for the creative mission aimed at the audience who love the national stage.

"Theatrical art survives thanks to the audience. Authors and directors must have professional ethics and a sense of commitment. Only then can the theater maintain its mainstream status and keep up with contemporary life," People's Artist Giang Manh Ha emphasized.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/nsnd-giang-manh-ha-kich-ban-la-goc-re-de-san-khau-chinh-phuc-khan-gia-196251015052523954.htm