National classic drama contest staged in Da Nang hinh anh 1An actor from Nguyen Hien Dinh Theatre in Da Nang performs Tuong (Photo: Nguyen Hien Dinh Theatre)

Da Nang (VNA) - Over 700 artists and actors from 11 art troupes nationwide will participate in the annual National Tuong (classic drama) and Traditional Folk Opera Contest in the central city on August 20-29.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the contest will feature 17 performances, of which 10 are classic drama, during the 10-day event at Da Nang’s Trung Vuong Theatre.

Event organisers said each performance will last from 90 minutes to 150 minutes, and will depict Vietnam’s past battles against enemies.

Gold medals will be given to the best performances, actors, artists, directors and choreographers.

The contest is an annual rendezvous for professional actors and artists to showcase their talents through traditional art performances.

The central city has introduced Tuong to the public and tourists through outdoor performances held every Sunday night.

Visitors will also be invited to try on costumes and take photos.

Tuong was introduced at some junior high schools as a pilot project to preserve the century-old performance art.

Last year, Tuong Xu Quang (Quang Nam’s classic drama) was recognised with National Intangible Heritage status.

The city also has a collection of 204 classical Tuong scripts, written in Han (Chinese) and Vietnamese ideographic characters (Nom), and published from 1802-45.-VNA
VNA