Vo Minh Lam creates Beauty and Hero: The lingering love story of Ly Chieu Hoang - Tran Canh

Vo Minh Lam thanked the artist crew and the audience for their support after the performance of the play Beauty and Hero - Photo: LINH DOAN

In his first play, Vo Minh Lam did not play any role in the play but completely stood aside to focus on his new position as stage director.

Vo Minh Lam wants to challenge himself

Recently, Vo Minh Lam studied directing at the University of Theatre and Cinema in Ho Chi Minh City. According to the original plan, Beauty and Hero (author: Chu Thom, edited by Joseph Hieu Trung) was the play Lam performed for his graduation report.

To report on graduation, he had to prepare several essays and many other steps. He was afraid that he would not have enough time and would not be able to prepare carefully, so he decided to postpone it.

The performance of Beauty and Hero is also a step for Vo Minh Lam to survey the opinions of experts and audiences to make appropriate adjustments and perfect his graduation exam.

Although he has been active for more than 20 years and is currently a young cai luong star, when he first became a director, Vo Minh Lam chose drama, which is not his forte.

The performance of Tran Canh "marrying off his wife" Ly Chieu Hoang made the audience tear up in the play Beauty and the Hero - Video: LINH DOAN

Lam happily confided that he was challenging himself: "I want to listen to everyone's opinions on my new role. I'm young, I have the right to try and take risks, from which I have the basis to gain experience and learn more."

Vo Minh Lam's production surprised everyone because it had many new features, bringing the breath of young people. He invested well in scenery, music, costumes, character creation, dance classes with profound hidden meanings...

Ta Lam (as Ly Chieu Hoang) and Hoa Thuan (as Tran Canh) - Photo: LINH DOAN

The young, fresh faces of the drama village in the main roles such as Ta Lam (as Ly Chieu Hoang), Hoa Thuan (Tran Canh), Huynh Lam Khoi (Tran Thu Do), Ngoc Phuong Cham (Thuan Thien)... convinced the audience.

The play still has some areas that need improvement, such as making the childhood of Ly Chieu Hoang and Tran Canh clearer, the martial arts scenes are well-invested but not smooth enough, the comedy of the two historians should be solid and deep so as not to be out of sync with the overall picture.

However, what Beauty and the Hero did was that when the play ended, people were still haunted by the love story of Ly Chieu Hoang - Tran Canh. Because of the great cause, even the emperor could not keep the person he loved.

There are also the judgments of posterity when looking at Tran Thu Do, is he a hero or a villain? Are the fates of women in the bitter cycle of the dynasty...

The performance of Ly Chieu Hoang confronting Tran Thu Do is one of the impressive performances of the play - Photo: LINH DOAN

Revealing prospects for the catwalk

Author Chu Thom, after the performance, informed that The Beauty and the Hero had been staged five times in the genres of drama, reformed opera, and cheo. He expressed: "I like this work and am moved by the love for the profession of young people."

People's Artist Tran Ngoc Giau commented: "Vo Minh Lam has the ability to determine the main idea of ​​the play while some young people often fall into a state of uncertainty, unable to determine the character system and easily get confused.

Vo Minh Lam took great care with the stage decoration, so there were scenes where the audience felt like they were looking at a beautiful painting on stage. In the picture is the scene of Yen Tu mountain, where Tran Canh planned to escape the royal power to live in seclusion - Photo: LINH DOAN

Lam showed that he knows how to choose a script and he showed great passion and determination for what he is doing. Everything he puts into the play is researched and has his own intentions.

As a professional cai luong artist, I chose to stage plays, which means I want to break away from the beaten path to explore new things. Lam's productions have the strength of going deep into emotions, so they easily touch the hearts of the audience."

A dance class shows Tran Thu Do's movements on the royal chessboard - Photo: LINH DOAN

However, Mr. Giau also noted that because Vo Minh Lam is a skilled actor, when directing the play, sometimes he accidentally "forced" the actors to act based on their feelings as actors, lacking an overall view.

I wish I could study directing sooner.

Vo Minh Lam confided: "When I studied directing, I realized that I needed to approach many broader things because as a director, I have to be responsible for all stages.

So studying gave me so much useful knowledge and now I wonder: Why didn't I study directing earlier so I could broaden my horizons sooner?"

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LINH DOAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vo-minh-lam-dung-giai-nhan-va-anh-hung-day-dut-mai-moi-tinh-ly-chieu-hoang-tran-canh-20250414070432248.htm