Artists from the Vietnam National Drama Theatre stage The Tale of Kieu, which was adapted from a masterpiece of Vietnamese literature (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - A run ofsold-out performances at the Hanoi Opera House this month, featuringaward-winning plays and the capital’s leading actors, have experts hoping for arevival of Vietnam’s theatrical heritage.
During August, the Hanoi Opera House has hosted eleven popular plays thathave won prizes at national and international contests, by artists from fiveleading troupes in the capital city.
The plays are part of last year’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourismdirective to bring high quality art performances back to the prestigious venue.
All three performances of two theatre pieces Kieu (The Tale of Kieu)and Lao Ha Tien (Molière’s The Miser) by actors of the VietnamNational Drama Theatre were hailed as a success, with tickets sold out daysbefore the curtains opened.
Many tickets were brought by the FLC Ha Long Company, and offered to loyalclients as a way of thanks. A large number were snapped upby theatre-lovers directly from the Opera House box office.
Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, the Opera house’s director, said “This year has beenbetter than last year. More people came directly to the Hanoi Opera House tobuy tickets. Many were excited by the performances from the Vietnam NationalDrama Theatre, Youth Theatre of Vietnam, and Hanoi Drama Theatre. On an averageevening, we could sell up to 30 million VND (1,300 USD) worth of tickets.”
The renewed public interest in these shows can be explained by efforts to puton more high-quality performances and a number of PR campaigns by the theatreand actors.
Press conference was held at the Hanoi Opera House to present the plays to themedia with well-known theatre actors participated. Social media platforms,including Facebook, was put to good use in promoting the stories and charactersto draw the attention of fans.
Theatres are starting to see the benefitin using social networks to promote new plays and allow exchanges betweenartists and audiences.
“I was very interested in watching the play Lao Ha Tien (The Miser).As a literature teacher, I was curious to see how this masterpiece of Frenchliterature was adapted into a Vietnamese theatre piece. I paid 400,000 VND (17USD) for a seat at the Hanoi Opera House, which was expensive for me, but Ididn’t regret it as the play was very interesting,” said Nguyen Hong Nga.
While a high number of young Vietnamesepeople living in big cities watch foreign films at the cinema, not many areinterested in visits to the theatre. One reason for the lack of interest is thehigh price of a theatre ticket, compared to a similar duration of entertainmentat the cinema. Others complain that they’re disappointed by the lack of varietyand subpar quality of the theatre pieces.
Experts admit that theatres face numerous difficulties, includingcompetition with other forms of entertainment.
“With this programme in August, we hope to inspire more public enthusiasm andinterest for theatre. I believe that theatres across the country have to uniteand work together to develop the art form, ultimately strengthening thetheatre,” said Xuan Bac, deputy director of the Vietnam National DramaTheatre.
Dao Van Hoang, deputy head of the Performing Arts Agency under the Ministry ofCulture, Sports and Tourism, said the programme will continue, offering chancesfor theatres all over the country.
“Beside the new best-selling plays, wewill restage classics by Vietnamese and foreign playwrights like Romeo& Juliet by Shakespeare, Rung Truc (Forest of Bamboo) by DoanHoang Giang and other famous plays by Luu Quang Vu,” he said.
This month, with the auditorium packed to the rafters and resounding applausefilling the halls, experts hope that the curtains are not coming down on Vietnam’stheatre just yet.-VNA
