Several music and dance performances will be held in HCM City on Sep. 9 to celebrate the National Theatre Day.

The main event will open at 7:30pm with hundreds of actors from various forms of theatre performing together at the Military Theatre in Tan Binh district.

These include cai luong (renovated opera), tuong (classical theatre), cheo (traditional opera), circus and puppet show artists.

Highlights will include cai luong and drama extracts from popular plays like Thai Hau Duong Van Nga (Queen Mother Duong Van Nga) and No Than (Magic Cross-Bow).

The performances will feature well-known stars like Thoai My, Hoai Linh and My Uyen.

Exhibitions of photographs and instruments that trace the development history of Vietnam's theatre will also included.

Organised by the city's Theatre's Association in co-operation with Tran Huu Trang Cai Luong Theatre, the event will be broadcast live on HCM City Television's Channel 1 (HTV1).

Organisers hope that actors, veterans and the young and even their children will perform in front of a makeshift altar in the middle of the stage./.