Recently, Meritorious Artist Tuyet Thu won a gold medal at the 2025 International Experimental Theatre Festival for her role as Queen Mother Duong Van Nga in the play "Son Ha" (original script: "The Queen and Two Kings" , author: Le Duy Hanh, director: Meritorious Artist Le Nguyen Dat).
REPORTER: After more than 30 years pursuing art, which role or performance has impressed you the most?
Meritorious Artist Tuyet Thu: From a young age, I enjoyed participating in school arts activities, so when I grew up, I decided to study Cai Luong (Vietnamese traditional opera) at the Stage Arts School 2 (now the Ho Chi Minh City University of Theatre and Film). Although I studied Cai Luong, my first acting role was in the spoken play "The Neighbor Girl " (1991). In 1996, People's Artist Tran Ngoc Giau paved the way for me to join the City Theatre. At the theatre, I participated in the play "Stepping Over the Curse ." Around this time, director Truong Long invited me to participate in the play "The Island of the Goddess of Venus ." The play was filmed and broadcast by Ho Chi Minh City Television (now Ho Chi Minh City Radio and Television), and I became more well-known to the audience. From this play, I had more opportunities to expand my stage performance activities in programs like "Inside and Outside the House," "Stories of Four Seasons," etc. In 1999, I joined the 5B Small Stage Theatre. Here, my biggest achievement was successfully performing the play " The Soul of Jade Poetry" (author: Le Duy Hanh, director: Khanh Hoang). It was in this experimental play that I had the opportunity to showcase my abilities, from acting and Cai Luong (Vietnamese traditional opera) to dancing and choreography… performing solo for 70 minutes. Since 2009, I have been working at the Hoang Thai Thanh Theatre.
Looking back on my life, I feel very fortunate to have received so much love and support from my mentors and colleagues in the profession. Although there were times when I had to deviate from the path, take many smaller roads, and face life's challenges, I gained more life experience, knowledge, and valuable lessons that will serve as a useful foundation for my artistic career later on.
Often playing gentle women, does your soft, gentle demeanor in real life influence directors' choices?
An actor's appearance greatly influences a director's selection in artistic projects. Perhaps this is why I often get roles of women who are bullied, who live long, suffering lives. Even when playing wealthy, elegant women, they are usually gentle and kind. Therefore, I really enjoy having roles that are different, breaking away from familiar images. To this day, I vividly remember three such roles: Bich Hong in "The Color of Love" (directed by Ai Nhu, Idecaf Theater), Mrs. Eleven in the television series "Long River " (directed by Truong Dung), and the villainous Nhung - the unfaithful wife in "White Sea Begonia " (directed by Ai Nhu, Hoang Thai Thanh Theater). With these roles, I had a lot of room to act, to express myself freely, without being constrained by rigid frameworks.
In recent years, she has won many gold medals at professional theater festivals. How does she feel about these achievements?
When participating in festivals, I am very happy to be part of meaningful professional events, where each person's talent is showcased through each role and performance. The medals and awards are an assessment of the capabilities of each actor, director, and crew.
At each stage, portraying different characters has always given me lessons and experiences, and I've gathered those experiences to add to my professional knowledge base. It also marks the valuable achievements I've attained after each festival, a great source of encouragement for me to continue striving. Moreover, these positive results help actors affirm the trust and affection of the audience, living up to the expectations of directors and producers.
One thing I find quite interesting for an artist is that awards also serve as practical lessons for their children. They teach the children that when undertaking any task, one must see it through to the end and do it well, regardless of the profession. For example, when I was preparing to play the role of Empress Dương Vân Nga in the play "Sơn Hà," I poured all my energy into everything from learning the script and practicing acting to developing new ideas and discussing with the production team… My children witnessed all of this and saw the joy when I won the award.
With 2026 fast approaching, what are your aspirations for your career and the artistic path you're currently pursuing?
The theater scene has faced considerable difficulties in recent years, so in the new year, I hope for more positive changes. In particular, I hope private theaters receive more attention from cultural management agencies, so that artists have more opportunities to develop their careers. I believe that when we talk about a country's strong development, its culture and arts must also be strong. Because it is the culture and arts that will contribute to showcasing and affirming to the world whether that country is prosperous or not.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nsut-tuyet-thu-vai-dien-khac-biet-tinh-cach-cho-toi-nhieu-dat-dien-post828579.html
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