Vietnamese stage engraved the name Pham Thi Thanh

Phạm Thị Thành - Ảnh 1. — Director Pham Thi Thanh - Photo: Youth Theater

As an actress of the Central Art Troupe and then the Central Drama Troupe, Ms. Pham Thi Thanh became the first female contemporary stage director in Vietnam.

As the founder of the Youth Theater, she directed more than 200 stage plays, many of which were awarded gold medals, many of which left a deep impression on the audience such as Romeo and Juliet, The 9th Oath, The Peak of Dreams, Tu Xuong, 2,000 Days of Wrongful Death, Good Man in House Number 5, Forever 17, Vu Nhu To...

Golden couple Pham Thi Thanh - Luu Quang Vu

The golden age of Vietnamese theater in the 1980s saw the country's sell-out plays by Luu Quang Vu. The director behind the success of many of those plays was Pham Thi Thanh.

People called Luu Quang Vu - Pham Thi Thanh the golden author - director couple at that time, because every play they made was very popular. In Luu Quang Vu's first play - Living Forever at 17, Pham Thi Thanh directed it for the Youth Theater stage.

During her lifetime, Ms. Thanh said that, through the introduction of a painter, Ms. Thanh ordered Luu Quang Vu to rewrite the script "Song Mai Tuoi 17" based on the manuscript of Mr. Dao Duy Ky. From this very successful first play, a brilliant and illustrious stage career of Luu Quang Vu and Pham Thi Thanh was opened.

People's Artist Le Chuc - who was close to director Pham Thi Thanh during her last days of illness, and who will also write the eulogy for the female director - said that at that time, the stage had an author and a director at the same time, Luu Quang Vu and Pham Thi Thanh.

Add talented artists and musicians, they form a good stage crew. They see the light in each other, go together, bring glory to each other and to the country's stage.

The plays that Pham Thi Thanh staged from Luu Quang Vu's scripts were so numerous and successful that people considered Tuoi Tre Theater as Luu Quang Vu's theater.

Mr. Le Chuc said he admired director Pham Thi Thanh as both an actress and a director, because before becoming a director, Ms. Pham Thi Thanh was a talented actress in the Central Drama Troupe and was very charming in cross-dressing roles and child roles, making him "convinced".

As a director, Le Chuc liked Pham Thi Thanh's concept of theater and was influenced by it. He really liked the intellectual, cultural, and humanistic qualities in the plays directed by Pham Thi Thanh.

Le Chuc believes that her "noble" background, with her father Pham Khac Hoe - the person who drafted the abdication edict for King Bao Dai on August 22, 1945, and her mother being a member of the royal family, created a Pham Thi Thanh with a very high intellectual and cultural background.

Having devoted her whole life to the stage with her talent, kindness, generosity and tolerance, Pham Thi Thanh has created beautiful values for many young generations through her art.

Phạm Thị Thành - Ảnh 2. — Artists Lan Huong (left) and Chi Trung in the play Bamboo Forest directed by Pham Thi Thanh - Photo: Tuoi Tre Theater

"Strong woman" of the stage

People's Artist Lan Huong - one of the first generation of actors of the Youth Theater selected and mentored by director Pham Thi Thanh - said that director Pham Thi Thanh contributed to changing the face of the stage since the 1980s.

"She was a good director in the whole country at that time, a strong woman of the stage. As for the Youth Theater, she had great contributions, not only as the founder but also for every play she staged, it almost always won a gold medal. She was very smart in finding plays and those plays touched people's hearts. Her plays were rich in philosophy but it was a philosophy that was close, easy to understand and very emotional," said artist Lan Huong.

People's Artist Chieu Xuan did not play any role in Pham Thi Thanh's plays, but for her, the plays by author Luu Quang Vu directed by Pham Thi Thanh were one of the beautiful sources of inspiration that fueled her desires and dreams of conquering the stage.

Chieu Xuan's husband, musician Do Hong Quan, used to compose music for Pham Thi Thanh's popular plays.

"In the years 1986 - 1988, the stage quartet including Pham Thi Thanh directed Luu Quang Vu's plays, artist Doan Chau designed the stage, Anh Quan composed the music - created attractive plays, performed throughout the provinces, fought in the east and the north, and won glorious victories. Those plays were successful in art and commerce, creating a breakthrough for the stage, and my family's economy was guaranteed" - artist Chieu Xuan recalled.

She said her husband often said he did not know where director Pham Thi Thanh got the energy to do so many things, and that everything she did was excellent, good, and innovative. In addition to being intelligent, Pham Thi Thanh was also very emotional, profound, and never forgot anyone, a very special person.

"She is a rare phenomenon in Vietnamese theater. The images she creates on stage are beautiful, poetic, humane, and intense; they give wings to romance, flight, and dreams. I don't understand why all the good and talented things come together in one woman like that," said artist Chieu Xuan.

Artist Huu Chau told Tuoi Tre that around 1998 - 1999, Ms. Pham Thi Thanh staged the play "Innocent Heart" (author: Luu Quang Vu) for the Idecaf theater stage. Huu Chau's impression of her was very affectionate:

"She came from the North but I felt like she was from the South, living in the South, so there was almost no distance between us actors and her. We will always remember her working style, very modern, comfortable and strong. But when she analyzed the character, she was very gentle, cute and extremely attractive."

That time, Huu Chau only appeared in two scenes, one of which was a solo scene to express his mood and feelings. Mrs. Thanh hugged Huu Chau and praised him: "Chau's inner strength is full and deep, try to keep it like that throughout the journey ahead, my son!". That encouragement was carefully preserved by Huu Chau for the rest of his life.

BIRD OF PARADISE - L.DOAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/san-khau-viet-khac-ghi-ten-pham-thi-thanh-20250905084709832.htm