People’s Artist Kim Cương (left) and actress Mỹ Hạnh perform in Bông Hồng Cài Áo (A Rose for Mother), a famous play in the 1970s and 1980s about motherly love. The play will air on Hồ Chí Minh Television (HTV) on August 29. — Photo courtesy of HTV

HCM CITY — The new version of Bông Hồng Cài Áo (A Rose for Mother), a famous dramatic play in the 1970s-80s about motherly love, will be broadcast on Hồ Chí Minh Television (HTV).  

The broadcast celebrates Vu Lan, the annual Buddhist festival held during the seventh lunar month, which shows gratitude for motherly love. 

It also will encourage people in the COVID-19 fight, a representative of HTV said.

“We offer Bông Hồng Cài Áo during the Vu Lan season because it is the time for Vietnamese, especially youth, to look back and remember their mother's love and sacrifices,” he said. 

Bông Hồng Cài Áo features a poor woman who sacrifices everything to give her children a better life.

The play debut in 1969 was staged by the Kim Cương Drama Troupe in HCM City.  It has been staged many times by drama troupes in HCM City and southern provinces.

HTV decided to broadcast the version staged by  People’s Artist Ngọc Giàu, Minh Hạnh and Thương Tín, the region’s leading theatre actors in the 1980s-90s. 

The play’s scriptwriter, People’s Artist Kim Cương, is also featured.

Cương launched the Kim Cương Drama Troupe, the first and leading drama troupe in the south, in 1965. 

She managed a staff of more than 70 actors who offered shows that combined cải lương (reformed opera), a genre of traditional southern theatre, and drama, a new and imported form. 

Cương wrote and directed 50 plays during her career, most of which highlighted southern women and their character. 

Bông Hồng Cài Áo (A Rose for Mother) debuted in 1969 by the Kim Cương Drama Troupe in HCM City. It has been staged many times by drama troupes in HCM City and southern provinces. — Photo courtesy of Hoàng Thái Thanh Drama Troupe

 "I hope my play, Bông Hồng Cài Áo, will help young audiences learn more about Vietnamese culture and lifestyle,” said the 83-year-old. 

Trần Thị Trung Chiến, a resident of Phú Nhuận District, said: “The spirit of Bông Hồng Cài Áo is fresh in the minds of theatre lovers of different generations. The play encourages young people to love and respect their mothers more.” 

“We haven't visited our parents since the fourth COVID wave began in late April. My children and I felt stronger watching Bông Hồng Cài Áo. We hope for better days for our family to meet,” she said. 

Chiến was among several thousand people who watched the first showing of Bông Hồng Cài Áo on HTV7 on August 21. 

The show will be rebroadcast at 8pm on HTV7 on August 29. — VNS