YOUNG STARS - Talented artists of the HCM City-based Hồ Chí Minh City Drama Theatre are working on shows about women and love. Photo courtesy of Hồ Chí Minh City Drama Theatre.

Thu Anh

HCM CITY — Southern culture, people and lifestyles are featured in new shows staged by theatres in HCM City.

Artists from the State-owned Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre offer Khúc Tráng Ca Thành Gia Định (The Epic of Gia Định Citadel ) and Thành Phố Buổi Bình Minh (In The City of Dawn), both produced by talented actor Phan Quốc Kiệt.

The two works highlight the original style of cải lương (reformed opera), the traditional genre of Vietnamese theatre in the south which began a hundred years ago.

They feature the history, culture and character of the South and its people.

The historical play Khúc Tráng Ca Thành Gia Định portrays Võ Duy Ninh, a national hero who contributed to the growth of South Việt Nam in the 19th century.

Ninh was born in 1804 in Nghĩa Hành District (now Quảng Ngãi Province).

He served as the governor of Gia Định Citadel (later Sài Gòn and now HCM City) in 1858 under King Tự Đức, the longest reigning monarch of the Nguyễn Dynasty - ruling from 1847 to 1883.

He led his military and people to fight against the French from 1858-59.

He was injured in a battle and killed himself after the French attacked and occupied Gia Định Citadel in 1859.

Thành Phố Buổi Bình Minh is about social issues of people living in HCM City.

Realistic images of women, their character and lifestyle, are highlighted.

“Our show features different stories of the southern people who encounter difficulties and challenges to build and develop their land,” said the theatre’s director Phan Quốc Kiệt.

CELEBRATING THE SOUTH - Theatres and drama troupes in HCM City offer new shows to highlight Southern people, their history, culture and lifestyles. Photo courtesy of Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre.

TKC Drama Stage, one of the city’s private art troupes, is offering Khát Vọng Ngày Mai (Aspiration for the Future) with new concepts and techniques.

The 120-minute show is produced by the theatre’s founder and People’s Artist Trịnh Kim Chi.

It features a group of young engineers and workers in HCM City who are helping to build the first train for the city’s Metro Line No 1 from Bến Thành Market in District 1 to Suối Tiên Theme Park in District 9. Construction of the metro line is expected to be completed in October, with services to be underway next year.

“Through our work, the images of Vietnamese people, particularly youth, are featured,” said Chi, who has 25 years in the industry. “Our artists offer drama in the style of the South.”

Khát Vọng Ngày Mai features 20 actors, including young talents Thiện Nhân and Uyên Nhi.

TKC Drama Stage opened in 2015 and offers shows staged especially to serve children and young people. The theatre’s shows have attracted more than 13,000 spectators.

Other shows are Sài Gòn Ngộ Lắm Nha (Lovely Sài Gòn) and Thành Phố Tình Yêu (The City of Love), both staged by artists from the State-owned Hồ Chí Minh City Drama Theatre.

The two plays feature young migrant workers who work and live in HCM City.

Themes of love and women are highlighted.

"Through our art, we hope to contribute to the character, morals, lifestyles, and identities of the city's residents,” said the theatre’s director Nguyễn Anh Kiệt. “Young audiences can see the beautiful minds and brave characters of Southern people after watching our shows.”

Kiệt’s theatre has 20 young actors, mostly from art schools such as the HCM City Theatre & Cinematography and the HCM City University of Culture. — VNS