The Vietnam Cai Luong Theatre’s play Nuoc Non Vạn Dặm (The Country) about late President Ho Chi Minh uses modern performance techniques. Photo courtesy of the producer Binh Phuoc (VNS/VNA) - A cai luong (reformed opera) play about the late President Ho Chi Minh will be staged in southern provinces to celebrate the 75th War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27).
The play, called Nuoc Non Van Dam (The Country), features artists of Vietnam Cai Luong Theatre, a leading traditional art troupe in Hanoi.
The 120-minute show depicts the childhood and first years of revolutionary activity of President Ho Chi Minh, from when the President used his birth name Nguyen Sinh Cung living in Nghe An province to when he went by the alias Van Ba and left Vietnam to France on a steamer to find ways for the country’s salvation.
The President’s revolutionary spirit and views in 1908 and 1909 when he studied in Hue are also highlighted.
The play’s director is People’s Artist Trieu Trung Kien, who has more than 30 years in the industry and is also the theatre’s director.
Kien and his actors have worked to present Nuoc Non Van Dam, as a cai luong play using modern performance techniques.
Talented actor Minh Hai plays President Ho Chi Minh. His performance left a very strong impression on the audiences and theatre critics after the premiere in May in Hanoi.
Hai said: “I watched documentary films and videos featuring President Ho Chi Minh. This enabled me to learn the spirit and character of the President and improve my own performance as well.”
“I hope to encourage young audiences to learn more about Vietnamese history through the play Nuoc Non Van Dam.”
The opera Nuoc Non Van Dam is the first show of a special stage project by Vietnam Cai Luong Theatre.
The project includes three plays on President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese revolutionaries. It praises the President’s life and revolutionary career, and his contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party, the liberation of the nation and to the movement of international communists and workers.
The project will complete in 2024.
“Our project introduces cai luong in both old and new styles,” said Kien, the project’s art director.
The play Nuoc Non Van Dam will be staged on July 27 in Binh Phuoc province. It will be released on July 29 and 30 in Long An and Dong Nai./.
