Late drama director Vũ Minh directed and produced 20 musicals and plays for children as part of a long-term theatre programme called Ngày Xửa Ngày Xưa (Once Upon a Time) launched by the IDECAF in 2000.  (Photo courtesy of the IDECAF Drama Stage)

HCM CITY — The funeral of renowned drama director Vũ Minh will be held on Thursday, March 17. Minh died of tuberculosis on March 13 in HCM City, aged 56. 

He began his theatre career as an actor in HCM City in 1997 after 14 years of working in puppetry. 

Two years later, he switched to drama direction for the IDECAF (Institute of Cultural Exchange with France), one of the city’s leading private theatres, after graduating in theatre directing from the HCM City University of Theatre and Cinematography.

He directed and produced 20 musicals and plays for children as part of a long-term theatre programme called Ngày Xửa Ngày Xưa (Once Upon a Time) launched by the IDECAF in 2000.  

The programme provides young audiences with new concepts and techniques in drama. Its artists have worked hard to foster the love of theatre among the youth. 

Once upon a Time has produced 33 plays with more than 500 free performances and shows for 30,000 children and teenagers, including disadvantaged children who live in open houses and shelters around the city.  

Renowned drama director Vũ Minh died of tuberculosis on March 14 in HCM City. He was 56. Photo courtesy of the artist’s family

“Vũ Minh played a very important role in our theatre’s developments. His art helped children and young people to improve their skills and enhance their spirit,” said Huỳnh Anh Tuấn, who runs IDECAF. 

One of Minh’s top-grossing musicals for children is Truy Tìm Thủy Long (Finding Water Dragon), a production first staged in the summer of 2019 and restaged many times since.

The play features the adventures of the Princess of the Sea, highlighting courage, honesty, love and friendship.

Minh worked with costume designers and theatre specialists to add a realistic element to 100 pieces of beautiful outfits, many accessories and stage designs for the play.

This January, he worked with young actors of IDECAF to stage a series of new plays for children this summer. —VNS