Good news from Vietnamese historical drama

In February 2024, IDECAF Drama Theater will perform the historical play "The Left General Le Van Duyet" (author: Pham Van Quy, director: Hoang Duan), in addition to other Vietnamese historical plays such as "Tran Thu Do - Heroes and Villains" (author: Le Chi Trung, director: Meritorious Artist Le Nguyen Dat) and "The Great Queen of Me Linh" in the genre of reformed opera, Southern folk opera by authors Vu Minh - Bach Long.

Looking for a star for a historical drama

In addition to the above-mentioned Vietnamese historical plays, IDECAF Drama Theater has also collaborated with Bach Long Children's Theater to stage the Vietnamese historical play "Spring on Thang Long Land" which is regularly performed at Non La Theater (HCMC Labor Culture Palace).

According to Mr. Huynh Anh Tuan - IDECAF Drama Theater, in addition to investing thoroughly in the artistic creation stages, IDECAF also focuses on creating conditions for young actors to have the opportunity to shine. "We set a goal that plays about Vietnamese history will be performed by young, skilled actors, among whom there will be factors that will become star actors in the future. To do that, we must invest from now" - Mr. Huynh Anh Tuan said.

The musical about Vietnamese history "The Love Story of Thang Long" by Hong Van Drama Theater (Photo: HONG VAN DRAMA STAGE)

According to experts, the character of Tran Thu Do has been played by many excellent artists in the fields of drama, cheo, cai luong, and folk opera, so choosing a play about this character is a bold decision by IDECAF Drama Theater. "I chose the play "Tran Thu Do - Heroes and Villains" to create a new perspective on the historical character through a youthful staging, while also creating momentum for the young actors of the IDECAF brand to promote their creativity, such as: Dinh Toan, Dai Nghia, Quang Thao, Phi Nga... The play "Nu Dai De Me Linh" in the genre of cai luong, a Southern folk opera by author Vu Minh - Bach Long is also an opportunity for young actors to portray the character of Hai Ba Trung" - the manager of IDECAF informed.

People's Artist Hong Van said that at Hong Van Drama Stage, when performing Vietnamese historical plays, there is always a team of solid actors supporting young colleagues. "The young actors such as Hoang Yen, Hoang Khoi, Kha Uy, Trung Anh, Tieu Minh Phung, Khoi Nguyen... from this stepping stone have become increasingly more solid in their expertise through their roles in Vietnamese historical works on Hong Van Drama Stage" - People's Artist Hong Van emphasized.

The role must have vitality.

For Meritorious Artist Kim Tu Long, when he accepted to participate as an artistic advisor and play a role in the play "The Love Story of Thang Long", it was the way he and People's Artist Hong Van and artist Hoang Son devoted all their hearts to training a generation of future actors. "Vietnamese historical scripts are very difficult to make, the acting also requires a deep level of sophistication, not acting like a daily drama, but the role must have vitality, a high level of generalization about the historical nature in the flow of the past" - Meritorious Artist Kim Tu Long shared.

Experts say that nowadays, in addition to actors, plays also need beautiful scenery, music , costumes, and technology to support the performance. Beautiful costumes are a factor that attracts audiences, but with Vietnamese historical plays, actors must be careful when wearing costumes because these costumes must be appropriate to the era that the play mentions.

"There should be training courses from the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association with current socialized stages, so that historians, directors, and authors have an accurate view of the characters of Vietnamese historical drama, especially about costumes" - People's Artist Tran Minh Ngoc proposed.

Director Le Quy Duong said the most difficult thing when staging a Vietnamese historical drama is to have a contemporary perspective. It is fictional but must not distort or fabricate history. More importantly, the actors' performances clearly demonstrate profound and valuable modern lessons from the historical story for the audience to receive and appreciate.

Insiders believe that staging Vietnamese historical plays requires a huge amount of funding to invest in scripts, stage design, costumes, music, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to have a special mechanism to help stages get discounts on theater rentals, ticket price support, etc. to be able to serve a large audience, especially those with no income or low income (students, workers, etc.).

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tin-hieu-vui-tu-kich-su-viet-196240123214020658.htm