Tran Luc: Theater never dies, only artists die

Tran Luc - Photo 1.

Director Tran Luc believes that new and creative theater still attracts audiences to the theater - Photo: T.DIEU

Director, People's Artist Tran Luc shared with Tuoi Tre Online about the current theater situation, on the sidelines of the launch of the Luc Team BlackBox art space he founded on May 10 in Hanoi .

Luc Team has its own "theater"

Luc Team BlackBox is a small stage, located in the campus of Student Village (79 Nguy Nhu Kon Tum , Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi).

After 5 or 6 years of establishing Luc Team, with many new plays combining Vietnamese conventional theater with Western expressive dramatic language such as Quan, The Bald Singer, Cinderella's Jealousy, Kieu, Willow Eucalyptus, Doll, Lo Hang... Luc Team has its own "theater", although small and quite far from the center.

Previously, Luc Team rented theaters in the city center and cultural centers.

Critic Pham Xuan Nguyen, a constant supporter of Luc Team, is happy that this private theater unit has its own stage. According to him, when Luc Team has a fixed venue and performs regularly, it will attract a regular audience.

He also believes that Luc Team's new expressive conventional drama and the operating model of the small BlackBox theater, which are very suitable for the current needs of the audience, will be supported.

Tran Luc - Photo 2.

Tran Luc has young, passionate actors accompanying him - Photo: T.DIEU

The stage just stood still, the audience got bored watching.

Opening a private stage at a time when private stages in Ho Chi Minh City are also facing many difficulties, having to operate at a low level or close down, and stages in general are lacking audiences, Tran Luc shared with Tuoi Tre Online that with the newness of Luc Team BlackBox, he hopes he will be successful and continue to open more facilities in Hanoi.

He said that with a "theater" of less than 200 square ^meters , Luc Team's stage will just be a flat surface without a stage platform and fixed audience seats like a traditional theater.

Here, the actors perform closely, right next to the audience and each play can place the "stage" at a different angle rather than fixed.

The audience will be able to mingle with the actors, there will be direct and strong interaction between the artists and the viewers, creating excitement for the audience.

Luc Team not only performs drama, but also combines many types of art such as music , painting, and performance art. The audience gets to see a true performance, with contemporary dance, live music, etc.

In the near future, Luc Team will re-perform old plays but continue to be shortened, condensed and renewed. The plays at Luc Team BlackBox will only last about 1 hour, to suit today's busy audiences.

Tran Luc - Photo 3.

A scene from the excerpt of the play Doll by Luc Team at Luc Team BlackBox - Photo: NGO HONG VAN

Tran Luc believes that with good and interesting products that satisfy the entertainment needs of contemporary audiences, Luc Team stage will still have customers. The need for entertainment in the audience always exists, not that the audience turns their backs on the stage as many people think.

"They keep saying that the audience is turning their backs on the stage. Actually, it's because the professionals can't keep up with the contemporary audience. Nowadays, the world is open, but the stage is stagnant, and the audience gets bored of watching it.

"Luc Team has determined since its inception that it must be different, attractive and constantly changing according to the world stage and art in general over the past 5-6 years," said Tran Luc.

He affirmed that the stage is not dead, but only the death of artists who refuse to innovate and create. We must make the stage attractive enough for people to still come.