HÀ NỘI — A collection of eight popular plays will be staged by the Việt Nam National Drama Theatre this month.

Each play has enjoyed huge box office success and proved to be big hits. They will be presented from December 8-17 as part of activities to celebrate the theatre’s 70th anniversary.

The plays include Kiều, Người Yêu Hoa Hậu (Pageant Queen’s Lover), Bão Tố Trường Sơn (Trường Sơn Storm), Người Tốt Nhà Số 5 (A Kind-Hearted Person in House No 5), Bệnh Sĩ (Egotism), Người Trong Cõi Nhớ (People in Memory), Đêm Trắng (White Night), and Điều Còn Lại (The Remaining Matter).

The play 'Bến Không Chồng' (Wharf of Widows) has debuted in South Korea recently. — Photo courtesy of the Việt Nam National Drama Theatre

However, the play Bến Không Chồng (Wharf of Widows), adapted by playwright Vũ Thị Thu Phong from the novel of the same name by Dương Hướng, is not in the list this month.

The play – a co-production of the National Drama Theatre and the Korea Association of Performing Arts Producers (KAPAP), and the Asia Culture Centre (ACC) – debuted in South Korea recently. Co-directed by Vietnamese director Hoàng Lâm Tùng and his South Korean female colleague Kim Min Jeong, the play has received loud applauses by South Korean audiences, critics and media.

Bến Không Chồng takes audiences back to the old days of northern villages and women waiting for their men to return from battle. The war takes the village’s healthy strong men far away, leaving behind their women waiting for them at the village’s wharf.

According to the director of the National Drama Theatre, Meritorious Artist Xuân Bắc, despite facing some difficulties, the theatre still tries their best to perform the plays.

'Người Trong Cõi Nhớ' (People in Memory) is among eight plays that will be presented next month. — Photo courtesy of the Việt Nam National Drama Theatre

“The staging of eight plays is the result of a great effort of every theatre’s actor and other staff member,” he said. “In fact, after the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been endeavoring to stage quality productions and satisfy the audience’s diverse requirements.”

He added that the eight plays presented to the public this month are just a part of the theatre’s “assets".

Since March, the theatre had staged nearly 150 shows, enjoying more than 50,000 spectators in Hà Nội and other provinces, including the northern mountainous areas.

Some new plays have premiered, including a series of short plays about late President Hồ Chí Minh entitled Sáng Mãi Tên Người (His Name is Forever Bright), the play Nhân Thế (Human World), and the musical Alice in Wonderland.

“There are some acclaimed plays that have received high awards at recent festivals that won’t be performed this month. We plan to introduce those plays to public, together with the long-awaited play Bến Không Chồng next year,” Bắc said.

A scene from the play 'Điều Còn Lại' (The Remaining Matter). — Photo courtesy of the Việt Nam National Drama Theatre

The director said that the theatre will invite retired artists to perform in the “signature play” Bệnh Sĩ – one of the most popular plays in recent decades. — VNS