People's Artist Tran Ngoc Giau believes that Ho Chi Minh City theater should not focus on purely comedic elements and forget political elements in plays - Photo: HO LAM
On the morning of July 15, the Theory and Criticism Board of the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association organized a dialogue space program for the Play and the public, meeting with the artist crews and actors of the plays participating in the 5th National Professional Theater Arts Festival on "The Image of the People's Public Security Soldier" in 2025 in Hanoi .
The event is an opportunity for artists and art managers of the Southern stage to exchange, share and summarize experiences after the festival.
Pressure to stage political drama
This year, Ho Chi Minh City stage has 4 plays representing the festival. They are Another War (author: Tong Phuong Dung; director: Le Nguyen Dat); Deep Night (author, director: Quoc Thao); Emotional Reunion (author: Hoai Huong; director: Le Quoc Na); Sugar-Coated Bullet (author: Dai Dai Loc, director: Mi Le).
In which the play Emotional Reunion of Truong Hung Minh Art Stage "won big" with 8 awards.
Talking to Tuoi Tre Online , Meritorious Artist Minh Nhi said this is the first time Truong Hung Minh Stage has organized a festival for the crew to compete in Hanoi:
"Making a political play about the image of a police officer, we determined from the beginning that we had to be meticulous and serious in every step. All actors had to try to practice their skills and reduce unnecessary entertainment elements. The play was successful at the festival because it also had the direct artistic advice of People's Artist Tran Ngoc Giau."
Meritorious Artist Minh Nhi shares the difficulties when bringing the play to the festival - Photo: HO LAM
Bringing the play Deep Night to the festival and winning 7 awards, artist Quoc Thao said that handling the script related to the police industry was also a challenge: "We do not clearly understand the standard way of walking, standing, and behavior in this industry, so we need to consult experts, even have people in the profession advise us to ensure accuracy."
Many artists also said that one of the major difficulties when socialized theaters from the South come to the North to compete is the limited funding and props.
The young actor of the play Deep Night Truong Phuc confided when talking with artist Quoc Thao that he understood that compared to art units outside of Hanoi with full props and scenery, the stage in Ho Chi Minh City from far away could only reach 50-70% in terms of material conditions. Therefore, the rest had to rely on the great efforts of the acting team.
Artist Huu Nghia shares about his role in the play Deep Night - Video : HO LAM
Political but not dry
As a famous comedian participating in a political drama festival for the first time, artist Huu Nghia was surprised by the humanity of the characters in the script, because his role was a police colonel who had to stand between justice and his fallen biological son.
"One message of the play that I remember is that the net of the law not only catches criminals but also surrounds their relatives when they commit crimes. This is one of the concerns of police officers when working. Their job is to catch criminals, but if their relatives are criminals, how will they handle it?
I also have pressure to play the role well and escape the impression of a comedian with this play."
The cast of Sau Dem took a photo with director Ngoc Giau, Ca Le Hong and Thanh Hiep - Photo: HO LAM
During the discussion, many artists also said that Ho Chi Minh City needs to have more investment mechanisms for the development of political drama such as: investing funds, creating conditions for organizing performances to promote award-winning works in the festival; the art council also needs to give suggestions to improve the quality of plays by art units.
People's Artist Tran Ngoc Giau believes that in addition to directly exploiting the character's image in political drama, it is also possible to expand the character's humanistic depth through surrounding characters such as family, community, and home front.
"Entertainment elements are of course necessary, but if the stage only focuses on comedy and entertainment, it will not have enough depth to touch on major social issues.
We need to focus on works that are critical, have depth of thought, and can approach policy, culture,education , etc. These are issues that society is in dire need of being reflected through art.
Political topics need to skillfully combine entertainment elements. When done well, we will have a basis to call for support and sponsorship from the State and other units," said Mr. Ngoc Giau.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/san-khau-tp-hcm-khong-nen-sa-da-vao-giai-tri-don-thuan-20250714184515757.htm
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